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UNIV.  OF  MASSACHUSETTS/AMHERST 
LIBRARY 


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GIFT   TO 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
LIBRARY 

from 


SIDNEY   KAPLAN 


• 


REPRESENTATIVE  FAMILIES 

OF 

NORTHAMPTON 


/J^nal-ficm    ¥JLwarQ~j 


Representative 
Families 

of 

Northampton 


A  Demonstration    of   What    High  Character,   Good 

Ancestry  and  Heredity  have  Accomplished 

in  a  New  England  Town 


Greatest  of  earthly  honors,  from  the  great 
And  good  to  be  descended.     They  alone 
Against  a  great  and  noble  ancestry  cry  out 
Who  have  none  of  their  own. 

— Ben  Jonson 


VOLUME 
I 


Northampton 

Picturesque  Publishing  Company 

1917 


DEDICATION 

I  DEDICATE  this  work  to  those  worthy  citizens 
of  my  native  town,  Christopher  Clarke  and  the 
late  Henry  S.  Gere,  who,  several  years  ago,  gave 
me  the  first  impulse  to  engage  in  the  enterprise. 

Certainly  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  worthi- 
ness of  the  subjects  of  this  dedication,  because  their 
public  services  have  been  often  recognized  and  were 
most  glowingly  and  properly  recounted  on  the 
eightieth  birthday  of  each  of  them,  at  largely  at- 
tended public  banquets  of  their  fellow  citizens  and 
co-workers. 

At  the  close  of  Northampton's  Quarter-Mil- 
lennial year,  1904,  (during  which  I  was  associated 
with  Mr.  Gere  in  a  part  of  the  preparations  for  the 
celebration  and,  later,  in  the  publication  of  the 
book  authorized  by  the  City  Council,  to  describe 
that  memorable  affair)  he  suggested  that  I  under- 
take the  work  of  publishing  another  book,  giving 
the  histories  of  Northampton  families  of  the  pres- 
ent time.  Christopher  Clarke,  who  had  been  im- 
portuned, by  others,  to  attempt  such  a  task,  was 
unable  to  consider  it,  but  assured  me  of  his  hearty 
co-operation.  Thus  encouraged  by  the  assurance  of 
these  two  most  worthy  citizens  of  the  "  grand  old 
town,"  I  finally  started  the  work,  which  will,  I  hope, 
be  useful  to  the  generations  which  come  after  us. 

Charles  F.  Warner. 

Northampton,  Massachusetts, 
January  1,  1917. 


CONTENTS 


Introductory  Note        .... 
Character   ...  .         . 

Some  Notes  on  Pride  of  Ancestry  . 
Jonathan  Edwards        .... 

With  frontispiece  portrait  and  three  other  illustrations 

The  Edwards  Family   .... 

With  two  portraits  and  one  other  illustration. 

New  Englanders  as  Doers  of  the  World's  Work 
Some  Other  Early  Northampton  Celebrities 
Christopher  Clarke 

With  portrait  and  three  other  illustrations. 

Henry  S.  Gere     .... 

With  portrait  and  three  other  illustrations. 

L.  Clark  Seelye    .... 

With  portrait. 

The  Williston  Family  . 

With  portrait  and  coat  of  arms. 

The  Shepherd  Family  . 

With  three  portraits  and  eleven  other  illustrations. 

Edward  H.  R.  Lyman 

With  portrait  and  view  on  the  Lyman  estate. 

The  Williams  Family    . 

With  portrait  and  view  of  family  residence. 

The  (Sydenham  Clark)  Parsons  Family 

With  five  portraits  and  five  other  illustrations. 

Lewis  J.  Dudley  .... 

With  portrait  and  view  of  "Shady  Lawn." 

Silas  M.  Smith     .... 

With  two  portraits. 

Charles  G.  Starkweather 

With  portrait. 

Arthur  Watson    .... 

With  portrait. 

William  Phillips  Strickland   . 

With  two  portraits. 

9 


11 
13 
15 
19 

28 

36 
37 
41 

53 

66 

75 

93 

128 

133 

145 

172 

179 

187 

192 

195 


10 


Contents 


Charles  N.  Clark 

With  portrait. 

Merritt  Clark 

With  portrait  and  three  other  illustrations 

Haynes  H.  Chilson 

With  portrait. 

Haynes  H.  Chilson,  Jr. 

With  portrait. 

Hiram  Day 

With  portrait. 

Gerald  Stanley  Lee 

With  portrait  and  three  other  illustrations 

Henry  C.  Hallett 

With  portrait. 

Richard  W.  Irwin 

With  portrait. 

The  O'Donnell  Family 

With  portrait  and  two  other  illustrations. 

Theobald  M.  Connor    . 

With  four  portraits. 

Chauncey  H.  Pierce 

With  portrait. 

The  Draper  Family 

With  portrait  and  two  other  illustrations. 

Edwin  W.  Higbee 

With  portrait  and  two  other  illustrations. 

Clarence  D.  Chase 

With  portrait. 

Harry  E.  Bicknell 

With  portrait. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Learned 

With  portrait  and  view  of  family  residence 

James  D.  Atkins 

With  portrait. 

The  Parsons  Family  of  Florence 

With  portrait  and  two  other  illustrations. 

George  A.  Burr    . 

With  portrait,  and  three  other  illustrations 

General  John  L.  Otis    . 

With  portrait. 

Joseph  C.  Martin 

With  portrait. 


209 
215 
228 
232 
236 
241 
255 
261 
269 
297 
314 
319 
331 
343 
347 
352 
368 
373 
387 
402 
408 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

THIS  volume  is  not  an  account  of  Northampton  fam- 
ilies of  the  past.  Its  object  is  to  record  the  family- 
histories  of  the  present  generation.  The  accom- 
plishments of  the  Northampton  families  of  today  have  not 
before  appeared  in  a  bound  volume,  but  should  be  recorded 
while  they  are  fresh  in  the  minds  of  those  best  acquainted 
with  them. 

What  would  we  not  give  now  for  a  contemporary  writer's 
text  and  illustrative  record  concerning  the  lives  and  material 
possessions  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  Seth  Pomeroy,  Major 
Hawley,  Caleb  Strong,  and  numerous  other  lesser  worthies 
who  might  be  named? 

There  are  many  of  our  own  generation  who,  if  they  have 
not  yet  become  so  famous,  by  such  stress  of  the  times  as 
those  in  which  the  great  men  of  the  past  lived,  have  been 
equally  honored  in  the  living  present  age,  by  worthy  pro- 
fessional, political  and  business  accomplishments,  and  who 
have  a  right  to  a  niche  in  the  local  hall  of  fame.  They  are 
men  who  have  given  of  their  best  thought  and  acts  to  the 
community  in  which  they  so  long  have  lived  and  will  prob- 
ably yet  receive,  in  popular  approval,  something  showing 
real,  lasting  esteem  for  what  they  have  done. 

For  obvious  reasons  the  pages  following  the  sketch  of 
Jonathan  Edwards  and  his  family  are  confined  to  the  records 
of  a  limited  number  of  local  living  families.  There  are  many 
other  deserving  subjects,  but  time  and  tide  wait  for  no  man, 
and  this  publication  has  already  been  too  long  delayed. 

11 


12  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

The  real  animus  of  this  work  is  to  show  what  human 
beings  can  accomplish,  not  by  glorifying  their  ancestors,  but 
by  inspiration  from  the  best  examples  of  their  forbears  and 
emulation  of  their  good  deeds  —  thus  ensuring  the  building 
up  of  noble  individual  character. 

Jonathan  Edwards  is  taken  as  the  leading  example  in 
this  work  because  he  represented  the  best  type  of  humanity 
of  his  time.  This  may  seem  almost  incredible  when  some  of 
the  severest  of  his  ministerial  utterances  are  considered. 
But  actions  speak  louder  than  words,  and  Mr.  Edwards 
gave  the  world  the  most  powerful  evidence  of  what  a  truly 
righteous  life  can  accomplish  —  that  is,  if  the  old  adage, 
"Blood  will  tell,"  holds  good,  and  it  certainly  did  in  his 
case,  as  sociological  statistics  show. 

No  one  can  doubt  the  facts  gathered  by  scientific  so- 
ciologists showing  how  sterling  and  honest  character  affects 
the  upbuilding  of  a  community  and  nation. 

All  honor  to  the  Millers,  Cooks,  Clarks,  Bartletts,  Kings, 
Rootes,  Parsons,  Hannums,  Phelps,  and  the  host  of  other 
early  settlers.  Their  work  was  of  the  same  kind,  in  a  meas- 
ure. They  laid  the  foundation  of  our  civic  liberties  and 
sowed  the  seed,  that  the  Hawleys,  Pomeroys,  Strongs,  and 
Edwardses  might  the  easier  reap.  Then,  after  these,  came 
the  names  of  a  richer  civilization  —  the  Whitneys,  Dwights, 
Hopkins,  Bates,  Mills,  Aliens,  Ashmuns,  Hunts,  Deweys, 
Hinckleys,  Stoddards,  Judds,  Williams,  Willistons,  Warners, 
and  a  host  of  others. 

History  has  already  been  written.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  repeat  what  has  been  told  of  these  old  worthies  so  many 
times,  but  it  is  hoped  that  what  is  said  in  the  following  pages 
will  make  still  more  clear  the  fact  that  the  best  New  England 
ancestry  is  something  to  be  proud  of  and  of  which  we  cannot 
learn  too  much. 


CHARACTER 

Character  is  higher  than  intellect. 


Emerson 


A  man  that  makes  a  character  makes  foes. 

—  Bayard  Taylor 

When  a  man  dies  they  who  survive  him  ask  what  property  he 
has  left  behind.  The  angel  who  bends  over  the  dying  man  asks  what 
good  deeds  he  has  sent  before  him.  —  Koran 

Good  name,  in  man  and  woman,  dear,  my  lord, 

Is  the  immediate  jewel  of  their  souls: 

Who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash :  'tis  something,  nothing, 

'Twas  mine,  'tis  his,  and  has  been  slave  to  thousands; 

But  he  that  niches  from  me  my  good  name 

Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him 

And  makes  me  poor  indeed. 

—  Shakespeare  in  Othello 

We  live  in  deeds,  not  years,  in  thoughts,  not  breaths; 

In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial. 
We  should  count  time  by  heart  throbs.     He  most  lives 
Who  thinks  most  —  feels  the  noblest  —  acts  the  best. 
Life's  but  a  means  unto  an  end  —  that  end 
Beginning,  means  an  end  to  all  things  —  God 
Why  will  we  live  and  not  be  glorious? 
We  never  can  be  deathless  till  we  die. 

—  Bailey 

The  sweet  remembrance  of  the  just 
Shall  flourish  when  he  sleeps  in  dust. 

—  Psalms,  112:  6 

Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure, 
whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report  if 
there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these  things. 

—  St.  Paul,  in  Philippians,  4 :  8 

13 


14  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

A  king  may  make  a  belted  knight, 

A  marquis,  duke  an'  a'  that, 
But  an  honest  man's  aboon  his  might  — 

Gude  faith,  he  mauna  fa'  that. 

—  Robert  Burns 

The  true  grandeur  of  nations  is  in  those  qualities  which  consti- 
tute the  true  greatness  of  the  individual.  — Charles  Sumner 

I  do  distrust  the  poet  who  discerns 
No  character  or  glory  in  his  time. 

—  Browning 

Actions,  looks,  words,  steps,  form  the  alphabet  by  which  you 
may  spell  character.  —  Lavater 

When,  upon  a  trial,  a  man  calls  witnesses  as  to  his  character  and 
those  witnesses  only  say  that  they  never  heard,  or  do  not  know  any- 
thing ill  of  him,  it  intimates,  at  best,  a  neutral  and  insignificant  char- 
acter. —  Lord  Chesterfield 

BEAUTY  OF  CHARACTER 

Shall  I  compare  thee  to  a  summer's  day? 

Thou  art  more  beautiful  and  more  temperate: 
Rough  winds  do  shake  the  darling  buds  of  May, 

And  summer's  lease  hath  all  too  short  a  date; 
Sometime  too  hot  the  eye  of  heaven  shines, 

And  often  is  his  gold  complexion  dimm'd: 
And  every  fair  from  fair  sometime  declines, 

By  chance  or  nature's  course  untrimm'd; 
But  thy  eternal  summer  shall  not  fade, 

Nor  lose  possession  of  that  fair  thou  ownest: 
So  long  as  men  can  breathe,  or  eyes  can  see, 

So  long  lives  this  and  this  gives  life  to  thee. 

—  Shakespeare 

Peace  to  the  just  man's  memory  —  let  it  grow 
Greener  with  years  and  blossom  through  the  flight 

Of  time,  let  the  mimic  canvas  show 

His  calm,  benevolent  features;  let  the  light 

Stream  on  his  deeds  of  love,  that  shunned  the  sight 

Of  all  but  heaven,  and  in  the  book  of  fame 

The  glorious  record  of  his  virtues  write. 

—  Bryant 


SOME  NOTES  ON  PRIDE  OF  ANCESTRY 

WHATEVER  one  may  think  of  individual  and  fam- 
ily pride  in  the  ancestral  tree  of  which  they  are 
branches,  one  has  to  concede  there  is  some  war- 
rant for  it,  because  good  ancestors,  as  a  rule,  produce  good 
descendants. 

It  must  therefore  interest  readers  of  this  volume  to 
listen  to  the  opinions  of  men  of  bygone  ages  on  this  subject. 
The  fact  that  these  authorities  differ  somewhat,  in  their 
estimate  of  the  value  of  good  ancestry,  is  not  surprising.  It 
only  goes  to  show  that  the  real  difference  in  the  minds  of 
the  disputants  is  as  to  the  moral  and  practical  value  which 
may  be  drawn  from  good  ancestry  and  the  uselessness  of  its 
mere  possession. 

It  is  by  no  means  derogatory  to  the  objectors  to  pride 
of  ancestry  that  "they  spurn  the  idle  pratings  of  the  great," 
for  the  objectors  often  reached  greater  heights  of  real  fame 
than  the  merely  hereditary  nobility,  who,  excepting  some 
who  wore  crowns  and  coronets,  rarely  made  any  lasting 
imprint  on  the  pages  of  history  to  their  moral  credit. 

To  voice  the  sentiments  of  these  disputants  let  us  quote 
an  anonymous  author  of  the  English  middle  ages,  who 
says: 


1  It  is  indeed  a  blessing  when  the  virtues 
Of  noble  races  are  hereditary 
And  do  derive  themselves  from  the  imitation 
Of  virtuous  ancestors." 

15 


16  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

And  then   Percival,   of  the  seventeenth  century,   who 

says: 

"  I  am  one  who  finds  within  me  a  nobility 
That  spurns  the  idle  pratings  of  the  great, 
And  their  mean  boast  of  what  their  fathers  were, 
While  they  themselves  are  fools  effeminate, 
The  scorn  of  all  who  know  the  worth  of  mind  and  virtue." 

The  important  point  to  be  remembered  is,  of  course,  that 
pride  of  ancestry  has  no  excuse  unless  its  possessor  accom- 
panies it  with  some  personal  accomplishment  of  use  to  the 
world,  and  makes  it  a  spur  to  the  building  up  of  a  noble  char- 
acter.    Ben  Jonson  best  expresses  this  when  he  says: 

"Hang  all  your  rooms  with  a  large  pedigree, 
'Tis  virtue  alone  is  true  nobility, 
Which  virtue  from  your  father,  ripe,  may  fall. 
Study  illustrious  him  and  you  have  all." 

It  is  interesting,  in  this  connection,  to  note  that  not  so 

very  long  ago  (1813)  Junot  due  d'Abrantes  said,  when  he 

was  asked  about  his  ancestry,  "I  know  nothing  about  it. 

I  am  my  own  ancestor."     There  seems  to  be  something 

approaching  a  parallel   to  this   quotation  from   Plutarch's 

writings,  as  follows: 

"To  Harmodius,  descended  from  the  ancient  Harmodius,  when 
he  reviled  Iphicrates  (a  shoemaker's  son)  for  his  mean  birth,  'My 
nobility  begins  in  me,  but  yours  ends  in  you.'  " 

Undoubtedly  Lord  Bacon  and  Addison  were  instructed 
by  the  spectacle  of  their  times  when  they  wrote: 

(Lord  Bacon):  "It  is  a  reverend  thing  to  see  an  ancient  castle 
not  in  decay;  how  much  more  an  ancient  family  which  have  stood 
against  the  waves  and  weathers  of  time." 

(Addison):  "Title  and  ancestry  render  a  good  name  illustrious, 
but  an  ill  one  contemptible." 

It  was  Goldsmith  who  said : 

His  ancestors  have  been  more  and  more  solicitous  to  keep  up  the 
breed  of  their  dogs  and  horses  than  their  children." 


Some  Notes  on  Pride  of  Ancestry  17 

And  the  poet  Young  had  his  more  or  less  righteous  fling 
at  ancestral  glorification,  in  saying: 

"They  that  on  glorious  ancestors  enlarge 
Produce  their  debt  instead  of  their  discharge." 

Richard   Brinsley  Sheridan,   who  was  something  of  a 

humorist,  said: 

"Our  ancestors  are  very  good  kind  of  folks,  but  they  are  the  last 
people  I  should  choose  to  have  a  visiting  acquaintance  with." 

Yet  from  time  immemorial  mankind  has  glorified  its 
ancestors.     Tacitus  said: 

"Think  of  your  ancestors  and  posterity." 

Plutarch  said: 

"It  is  indeed  a  desirable  thing  to  be  well  descended,  but  the 
glory  belongs  to  our  ancestors." 

Juvenal,  in  spite  of  the  derivation  which  might  be  made 
from  his  cheerful  name,  must  have  been  an  old-time  pessi- 
mist, for  he  thus  groans: 

"Of  what  avail  are  pedigrees,  or  to  derive  one's  blood  from  a 
long  train  of  lofty  ancestors." 

But  Juvenal  probably  did  not  consider  that  the  incen- 
tive to  do  as  well  as,  if  not  better  than  our  ancestors,  is  often 
born  of  the  emulative  pride  we  have  in  them. 

And  what  Latin  scholar  has  not  construed  these  more 
cheerful  lines  from  Virgil : 

"The  battle  is  in  your  hands,  men;  now  let  each  be  mindful  of 
his  wife  and  his  home.  Now  recall  the  great  deeds  and  glory  of  your 
ancestors." 

Shakespeare  gives  the  encouraging  word,  too : 

"All  his  ancestors  gone  before  him  have  done't 
And  all  his  ancestors  that  come  after  him  may." 

Sallust  takes  this  philosophic  view: 

"Distinguished  ancestors  shed  a  powerful  light  on  their  descend- 
ants and  forbid  the  concealment  either  of  their  merits  or  demerits." 


18  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

It  was  Froude,  in  his  "Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects," 
who  said  this  seemingly  shocking  thing: 

"  In  every  department  of  life  —  in  its  business  and  pleasures,  in 
its  beliefs  and  in  its  theories,  in  its  material  developments  and  in  its 
spiritual  connections  —  we  thank  God  that  we  are  not  like  our  fathers." 

And  thus  scorchingly  says  Colton: 

"The  pride  of  ancestry  is  a  superstructure  of  the  most  imposing 
height,  but  resting  on  the  most  flimsy  foundations." 

With  Young: 

"He  stands  for  fame  on  his  forefather's  feet, 
By  heraldry  proved  valiant  or  discreet." 

But  Lord  Macaulay  may  well  be  quoted  in  rejoinder: 

"A  people  which  takes  no  pride  in  the  noble  achievements  of 
remote  ancestors  will  never  achieve  anything  worthy  to  be  remembered 
by  remote  descendants." 

And  that  renowned  Irish  orator  and  statesman,  Edmund 
Burke,  said: 

"People  will  not  look  forward  to  posterity  who  never  look  back- 
ward to  their  ancestors." 

Holy  Writ,  too: 

Let  us  now  praise  famous  men  and  the  fathers  that  begat  us. 

— Ecclesiasticus. 

However,  to  conclude  this  discussion  of  a  well-defended 
controversy  on  both  sides,  nothing  was  probably  better  said 
or  more  fairly,  in  reference  to  this  matter,  than  by  Bishop 
Warburton,  in  the  English  House  of  Lords  —  as  is  reported 
on  the  occasion  of  a  dispute  (concerning  nobility  in  individu- 
als) between  a  peer  of  noble  family  and  one  of  a  new  creation. 
The  Bishop  said  that: 

"High  birth  was  a  thing  which  he  never  knew  any  one  to  dis- 
parage except  those  who  had  it  not;  and  he  never  knew  any  one 
make  any  boast  of  it  who  had  any  thing  else  to  be  proud  of." 


Jonathan  Edwards 


The  Edwards  Coat  of  Arms 


19 


— 

A 

- 

- 

— 

E 

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JONATHAN  EDWARDS 

Northampton's  Most  Famous  Citizen 

WHEN  one  comes  to  consider  the  names  of  those  men 
foremost  in  local  history,  the  name  of  Jonathan 
Edwards  stands  pre-eminent  as  Northampton's 
most  famous  citizen.  Others  preceded  and  came  after  him 
whose  fame  also  gave  honor  and  luster  to  this  town  of  their 
residence,  but  Jonathan  Edwards  had  world-wide  renown. 

He  was  born  at  East  Windsor,  Connecticut,  October  5, 
1703,  and  he  served  as  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  North- 
ampton a  few  months  over  twenty-three  years.  While  in  this 
place  he  largely  made  the  theological  record  for  which  he  later 
became  so  famous. 

Jonathan  Edwards  gave,  in  his  family  progenitorship, 
in  Northampton,  magnificent  evidence  of  what  character, 
knowledge,  and  good  citizenship  can  produce  in  the  world. 
He  was  fortunate  in  his  marriage  with  a  young  woman  of 
rare  spiritual  and  material  accomplishments  —  Sarah  Pier- 
pont  —  and  Mr.  Edwards'  courtship  and  the  marital  life  of 
both  form  a  most  interesting  story  which  should  be  perused 
by  the  leisurely  reader. 

Within  the  limits  of  this  volume  it  is  more  desirable  to 
show  what  Mr.  Edwards  accomplished  toward  the  upbuilding 
of  character  and  righteous  and  useful  citizenship,  rather  than 
to  attempt  a  discussion  of  his  theological  opinions  and  the 
differences  he  had  with  his  parishioners. 

21 


22  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Young  Edwards  was  a  remarkably  precocious  lad,  and 
entered  college  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  His  father,  Timothy 
Edwards,  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  received  two  de- 
grees at  graduation,  on  the  same  day  —  one,  the  Bachelor  of 
Arts,  in  the  morning,  and  that  of  Master  of  Arts  in  the  after- 
noon. Jonathan  Edwards,  the  son,  received  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts  from  Yale  College  at  seventeen  years  of  age. 
In  his  second  year  at  college  and  the  thirteenth  year  of  his 
age,  he  read  Locke  on  "The  Human  Understanding,"  so  it  is 
recorded,  "with  much  delight  and  profit." 

His  uncommon  genius,  by  which  he  was  formed  for  close- 
ness of  thought  and  deep  penetration,  now  began  to  discover 
itself.  Taking  Locke's  book  in  his  hand,  not  long  before  his 
death,  he  said  to  some  of  his  select  friends  who  were  with 
him  that  he  was  beyond  expression  entertained  and  pleased 
with  it,  when  he  read  it  in  his  youth  at  college;  that  he  was 
as  much  engaged,  and  had  "more  satisfaction  and  pleasure 
in  studying  it  than  the  most  greedy  miser  in  gathering  up 
handfuls  of  silver  and  gold  from  some  newly  discovered 
treasure." 

Though  he  became  proficient  in  all  the  arts  and  sciences 
and  had  an  uncommon  taste  for  natural  philosophy,  yet 
moral  philosophy  or  theology  was  his  favorite  study. 

He  lived  at  college  about  two  years  after  he  took  his 
first  degree,  preparing  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  was 
first  applied  to  by  a  number  of  ministers  in  New  England, 
who  were  instructed  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  English  Presbyte- 
rians at  New  York,  as  a  fit  person  to  be  sent  to  them.  In 
compliance  with  their  request  he  went  to  New  York  in 
August,  1722,  and  preached  there  to  general  acceptance 
about  eight  months.  But  the  society  was  small,  and  Mr. 
Edwards  did  not  think  it  was  prosperous  enough  to  settle  a 
minister  with  a  rational  prospect  of  success.    He  therefore 


Desk 

on  which  Mr.  Edwards  wrote  his  book,  "The  Freedom  of  the  Will' 


Tankard 

presented  to  Mr.  Edwards  by  his  parishioners  at  Northampton 


23 


Jonathan  Edwards  25 


returned  to  his  father's  house,  where  he  spent  the  summer 
in  close  study.  In  September,  1723,  he  received  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts,  and  about  the  same  time  he  had  several 
invitations  to  preach  as  a  candidate  for  settlement,  but  he  was 
chosen  tutor  of  Yale  College  the  next  spring,  and  retired  to 
the  college  for  two  years  following. 

While  thus  engaged  he  was  applied  to  by  the  people  of 
Northampton  to  settle  here,  with  his  grandfather,  Solomon 
Stoddard,  who  by  reason  of  his  great  age,  stood  in  need  of 
assistance.  He  therefore  resigned  his  tutorship  in  September, 
1726,  accepted  this  invitation,  and  was  ordained  as  colleague 
with  Mr.  Stoddard,  February  15,  1727,  in  the  twenty-fourth 
year  of  his  age. 

The  story  of  his  dismissal  from  the  First  Church  of 
Northampton  is  a  distressing  one,  but  hardly  worth  repeating 
here.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  dismissal  was  due  largely  to 
Mr.  Edwards'  praiseworthy  zeal  in  exposing  corruptions 
among  the  youth  of  influential  families  of  his  congregation, 
though  the  "half-way  covenant"  agitation  may  have  had 
something  to  do  with  it.  But  there  is  abundant  evidence 
that  many  who  opposed  him  were  later  sorry  for  their  course. 
Among  them  was  his  young  cousin,  Major  Joseph  Hawley, 
who  threw  himself  into  the  agitation  with  all  the  impetuosity 
of  youth,  but  not  long  afterward,  when  Mr.  Edwards  was 
in  the  Stockbridge  Indian  mission,  he  wrote  a  lengthy  letter 
of  apology  to  him,  in  which  he  took  a  most  humble  and 
contrite  position  (fairly  abasing  himself)  in  confessing  what 
he  termed  his  "sin"  in  the  matter.  Not  only  did  Major 
Hawley  write  to  Mr.  Edwards,  but  to  several  of  the  latter's 
friends,  apologizing  to  them,  and  also  caused  his  apology  to 
be  published  in  a  Boston  weekly  newspaper. 

Mr.  Edwards  took  up  his  work  among  the  Stockbridge 
Indians  in  1751,  and  stayed  with  them  seven  years.     In  Feb- 


26  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

ruary,  1758,  he  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  New  Jersey 
College  at  Princeton,  to  succeed  Aaron  Burr.  He  had  been 
settled  there  less  than  a  month  when,  notwithstanding  he  had 
been  vaccinated,  he  was  stricken  with  smallpox  (then  raging 
in  the  country),  and  died,  after  a  short  illness,  March  22d,  in 
the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age. 

What  more  can  be  said  of  this  remarkable  man  than 
has  been  already  written  in  various  books,  memorials,  and 
addresses?  The  latest  public  testimonial  of  wide  importance 
was  the  memorial  service  at  the  First  Church  in  Northamp- 
ton, June  22,  1900,  just  150  years  after  his  dismissal  from 
this  parish.  The  tributes  then  paid  to  the  great  theologian's 
memory  by  Rev.  Alexander  V.  G.  Allen,  professor  at  Cam- 
bridge; by  Rev.  Egbert  G.  Smith,  professor  in  Andover 
Seminary;  Rev.  George  A.  Gordon,  D.D.,  of  the  Old  South 
Church  in  Boston;  Rev.  Henry  T.  Rose,  of  the  First  Church; 
and  Prof.  H.  Norman  Gardiner,  M.A.,  of  Smith  College, 
covered  about  all  that  had  not  already  been  said.  These 
with  other  tributes  can  be  found  in  the  public  libraries. 

To  return  to  a  more  intimate  consideration  of  Mr. 
Edwards'  life  it  is  worth  while  to  read  some  of  the  resolutions 
he  made  during  his  early  life.  His  diaries  intimate  that  he 
must  have  submitted  himself  to  close  self-examination,  and 
he  formulated  a  series  of  seventy  or  more  resolutions,  a  por- 
tion of  which,  follows.  These  resolutions  were  not  put  one 
side,  to  be  soon  forgotten.  They  were  introduced  with  the 
memoranda:  "Remember  to  read  these  resolutions  once  a 
week." 

"Resolved,  That  I  will  do  whatever  I  think  to  be  most  to  God's 
Glory,  and  my  own  good,  profit  and  pleasure,  in  the  whole  of  my 
duration  without  any  consideration  of  the  time,  whether  now  or  never 
so  many  ages  hence.  Resolved  to  do  whatever  I  think  to  be  my  duty, 
and  most  for  the  advantage  and  good  of  mankind.  Resolved  to  do 
this,  whatever  difficulties  I  meet  with,  how  many  and  great  whatsoever. 


Jonathan  Edwards  27 


"Resolved,  to  live  with  all  my  might  while  I  do  live. 

"Resolved,  never  to  do  anything  which  I  should  be  afraid  to  do 
if  it  were  the  last  hour  of  my  life. 

"Resolved,  to  be  endeavoring  to  find  out  fit  objects  for  charity 
and  liberality. 

"Resolved,  never  to  do  anything  out  of  revenge. 

"Resolved,  never  to  suffer  the  least  motions  of  anger  to  irrational 
beings. 

"Resolved,  that  I  will  live  so  as  I  shall  wish  I  had  done  when  I 
come  to  die. 

"Resolved,  to  maintain  the  strictest  temperance  in  eating  and 
drinking. 

"Resolved,  to  never  do  anything  which  if  I  should  see  in  another 
I  should  count  a  just  occasion  to  despise  him  for,  or  to  think  any  way 
the  more  meanly  of  him. 

"Resolved,  always  to  do  what  I  can  towards  maintaining  and 
establishing  peace,  when  it  can  be  done  without  over-balancing  detri- 
ment in  other  respects. 

"Resolved,  in  narrations  never  to  speak  anything  but  the  pure 
and  simple  verity. 

"Resolved,  never  to  speak  evil  of  any,  except  I  have  some  par- 
ticular good  call  for  it. 

"Resolved,  to  inquire  every  night,  as  I  am  going  to  bed,  wherein 
I  have  been  negligent,  what  wrong  I  have  committed  and  wherein  I 
have  denied  myself. 

"Resolved,  to  ask  myself  at  the  end  of  every  day,  week,  month 
and  year,  wherein  I  could  possibly  in  any  respect  have  done  better. 

"Resolved,  to  endeavor  to  my  utmost  to  deny  whatever  is  not 
most  agreeable  to  a  good,  and  universally  sweet  and  benevolent,  quiet, 
peaceable,  contented,  easy,  compassionate,  generous,  humble,  meek, 
modest,  submissive,  obliging,  diligent  and  industrious,  charitable,  even, 
patient,  moderate,  forgiving,  sincere  temper;  and  to  do  at  all  times 
what  such  a  temper  would  lead  me  to. 

"Resolved,  I  will  act  so  as  I  think  I  shall  judge  would  have 
been  best  and  most  prudent  when  I  come  into  the  future  world. 

"I  frequently  hear  persons  in  old  age  say  how  they  would  live 
if  they  were  to  live  their  lives  over  again:  Resolved,  that  I  will  live 
just  so  as  I  can  think  I  shall  wish  I  had  done  supposing  I  live  to  old 
age. 

"Resolved,  Whenever  I  hear  anything  spoken  in  conversation  of 
any  person,  if  I  think  it  would  be  praiseworthy  in  me,  to  endeavor  to 
imitate  it. 

"Resolved,  after  afflictions  to  inquire  what  I  am  the  better  for 
them,  what  good  I  have  got  by  them,  and  what  I  might  have  got  by 
them." 


THE  EDWARDS  FAMILY 

IT  IS  important  to  remember  that  Timothy  Edwards,  the 
father  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  contributed  to  the  glory  of 
righteous  ancestry  in  his  union  with  Esther  Stoddard, 
daughter  of  Solomon  Stoddard,  the  famous  minister  of  North- 
ampton's First  Church.  She  was  a  woman  of  rare  accomplish- 
ments, judging  from  what  we  read  of  her. 

From  the  story  of  such  a  union  and  such  an  ancestry  it 
is  not  surprising  that  such  facts  have  been  gleaned  as  are 
shown  in  Charles  A.  Winship's  comparison  of  the  Edwards 
and  Jukes  families  —  an  analysis  which  has  attracted  the 
attention  of  sociologists  the  world  over.  Mr.  Winship's 
object  was  to  show  the  great  difference  between  a  godly, 
righteous  life  and  a  criminal  life,  in  its  hereditary  results  on 
succeeding  generations.  Within  the  limits  of  this  volume 
it  is  not  possible  to  reproduce  Mr.  Winship's  comparison 
in  full.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Jukes  was  a  notorious 
criminal  of  Chicago  and  was  the  progenitor  of  a  long  line  of 

criminals. 

The  striking  contrast  between  this  criminal's  family,  and 

the  accomplishments  of  Jonathan  Edwards'  sons,  daughters, 

and  grandsons,  etc.,  is  very  striking. 

From  Edwards  there  sprang  the  most  remarkable  gift 
to  the  world  of  human  ability  and  achievement  that  was 
perhaps  ever  heard  of.    Let  the  reader  judge  for  himself. 

The  Edwards  family  has  furnished  an  array  of  more 
than  one  hundred  lawyers,  thirty  judges,  and  the  most  emi- 
nent law  professor  probably  in  the  country.    James  Bryce 

28 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jonathan  Edwards 

She  was  Sarah  Pierpont  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  before  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Edwards 


29 


The  Edwards  Family  31 

in  his  comments  on  America  places  one  of  this  family  at 
the  head  of  legal  learning  on  this  continent.  This  was 
Theodore  William  D wight,  LL.D.,  born  in  New  Haven, 
July  18,  1822;  graduated  from  Hamilton  College,  1840;  pro- 
fessor there,  1842-58.  In  1858  he  went  to  Columbia  College, 
organized  the  law  school,  and  was  its  president  for  thirty- 
three  years.  Some  of  the  most  eminent  official  attorneys  of 
Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Chicago  have  been  found  in 
the  Edwards  family. 

There  is  not  a  leading  college  in  the  country  where  their 
name  cannot  be  found  recorded.  They  have  not  only  fur- 
nished thirteen  college  presidents  and  a  hundred  or  more 
professors,  but  they  have  founded  many  important  acad- 
emies and  seminaries  in  New  Haven  and  Brooklyn,  all  through 
the  New  England  states,  and  in  the  Middle,  Western,  and 
Southern  states.  They  have  contributed  liberally  to  college 
endowments.  One  gave  a  quarter  of  a  million  as  an  endow- 
ment for  Yale. 

At  Yale  there  have  been  more  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  graduates.  Among  these  are  about  twenty  Dwights, 
nearly  as  many  Edwards,  seven  Woolseys,  eight  Porters,  five 
Johnsons,  four  Ingersolls,  and  several  of  the  following  names: 
Chapin,  Winthrop,  Shoemaker,  Hoadley,  Lewis,  Mather, 
Reeve,  Rowland,  Carmalt,  Devereaux,  Weston,  Heermance, 
Whitney,  Blake,  Collier,  Scarborough,  Yardley,  Gilman, 
Raymond,  Wood,  Morgan,  Bacon,  Ward,  Foote,  Cornelius, 
Shepards,  Bristed,  Wickerham,  Doubleday,  Van  Volkenberg, 
Robbins,  Tyler,  Miller,  Lyman,  Pierpont.  Winston  Churchill, 
the  author,  is  a  recent  graduate.  In  Amherst  at  one  time 
there  were  of  this  family  President  Gates,  and  Professors 
Mather,  Tyler,  and  Todd.  Wherever  found,  the  Edwards 
descendants  are  leaders  in  college  faculties.  Those  who  know 
what  Gates,  Mather,  Tyler,  and  Todd  have  stood  for  at 


32  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Amherst  will  appreciate  what  Jonathan  Edwards'  blood  has 
done  for  this  college. 

There  have  been  sixty  physicians,  all  marked  men. 
Dr.  Richard  Smith  Dewey  was  an  eminent  surgeon  in  the 
Franco-Prussian  War,  having  charge  of  the  Prussian  hos- 
pital at  Hesse  Cassel.  Dr.  Sereno  Edwards  D wight  was  a 
surgeon  and  physician  in  the  British  regular  army.  The 
physicians  of  the  family  have  had  important  connection  with 
insane  hospitals.  The  legislative  action  of  New  York  by 
which  the  first  state  insane  asylum  was  built,  was  largely 
brought  about  by  a  physician  of  this  family.  Eminent 
names  in  the  medical  annals  of  San  Francisco,  Chicago, 
Detroit,  New  York,  Boston,  and  other  cities  can  be  traced  to 
Jonathan  Edwards. 

America  has  had  no  more  brilliant  preachers  and  theo- 
logians than  some  of  those  that  bear  the  name  of  Edwards, 
D wight,  Woolsey,  Park,  and  Ingersoll.  There  have  been 
no  more  noted  missionaries,  than  this  family  has  sent,  for 
faithful  and  successful  work  in  Asia  Minor,  India,  Africa, 
China,  Hawaii,  and  the  South  Sea  Islands.  Dwight's  famous 
five  volumes  on  theology  are  a  product  of  a  worthy  descend- 
ant of  Jonathan  Edwards.  Edwards  A.  Park,  the  long  time 
head  of  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  whose  vigor  of 
thought,  keenness  of  logic,  and  pulpit  powers  are  unsur- 
passed, was  a  descendant  of  Mr.  Edwards.  The  family  has 
furnished  several  army  chaplains  and  one  eminent  chaplain 
of  the  United  States  Senate.  They  have  made  many 
churches  prominent  by  the  vigor  of  their  pulpit  utterances. 

More  than  eighty  members  of  the  family  of  Jonathan 
Edwards  have*  been  honored  with  public  office.  Legisla- 
tures in  all  sections  of  the  country,  governor's  councils,  state 
treasuries,  and  other  elective  offices  have  been  filled  by 
these  men.     They  have  been  mayors  of  New  Haven,  Cleve- 


Edwards  Elms 

There  were  originally  two  of  these.     The  farther  one  in  the  picture  shows  Miss  Maria  D.  Whitney,  after- 
ward professor  at  Smith  College,  seated  with  a  friend  in  the  cosy  seat  above  the  trunk  of  the  tree 


33 


The  Edwards  Family  35 


land,  and  Troy;  governors  of  Connecticut,  Ohio,  and  South 
Carolina;  they  have  been  prominent  in  the  Continental 
Congress,  in  the  constitutional  conventions  of  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  New  York,  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin. 
They  have  represented  the  United  States  at  various  foreign 
courts;  several  have  been  members  of  Congress;  three  have 
been  United  States  senators;  and  one  vice-president  of  the 
United  States. 

In  the  Edwards  family  some  sixty  have  attained  prom- 
inence in  authorship  or  editorial  life.  Mr.  Winship  found 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  books  of  merit  written  by  this 
family.  Eighteen  considerable  journals  and  periodicals  have 
been  edited  and  several  important  ones  founded  by  the 
Edwards  family. 

The  Edwards  family  is  a  prominent  factor  in  the  mer- 
cantile, industrial,  and  professional  life  of  thirty-three  states 
of  the  Union  and  in  several  countries  abroad,  in  ninety-two 
American  and  many  foreign  cities.  They  have  been  pre- 
eminently directors  of  men.  The  Pacific  steamship  line  and 
fifteen  American  railway  systems  have  had  as  president,  su- 
perintendent, or  otherwise  in  active  management,  one  of  this 
family.  Many  large  banks,  banking-houses,  and  insurance 
companies  have  been  directed  by  them.  They  have  been 
owners  or  superintendents  of  great  coal  mines  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  West  Virginia,  of  iron  plants  and  vast  oil  inter- 
ests in  Pennsylvania,  and  of  silver  mines  in  Nevada.  There 
is  scarcely  any  American  industry  that  has  not  had  one  of  this 
family  among  its  chief  promoters.  Eli  Whitney,  of  cotton- 
gin  fame,  married  a  grand-daughter  of  Jonathan  Edwards. 

Prison  reform  has  found  its  leading  advocates  in  this 
family.  Wilberforce's  best  American  friend  was  of  this  fold, 
and  Garibaldi  valued  one  of  the  family  above  all  other 
American  supporters. 


NEW  ENGLANDERS  AS  DOERS  OF  THE 
WORLD'S  WORK 

And  Massachusetts  Leads  Them  All 

DAY  after  day  the  obituary  columns  of  the  newspa- 
pers are  full  of  the  notices  of  prominent  men  all 
over  the  country.  If  you  stop  to  think  of  it,  is  it 
not  remarkable  that  so  many  of  these  men  come  from  the 
hills  of  New  England?  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Massachusetts,  particularly,  have  contributed  a  most  gener- 
ous share  of  the  men  who  have  done  and  are  doing  their  part 
of  the  world's  work.     This  is  shown  by  remarkable  statistics. 

Massachusetts  and  Vermont  produce  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  eminent  persons  in  proportion  to  population,  as  shown 
by  the  census  and  the  book  "Who's  Who  in  America?" 
Professor  Nearing  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  says 
that  Massachusetts  had  85  names  in  the  1913  "Who's  Who" 
for  every  100,000  of  its  native  population  in  1880,  before 
which  year  nearly  every  one  in  "Who's  Who"  was  born. 
Vermont  came  next  with  75.5.  Next  in  order  are  Connec- 
ticut with  69.2;  Rhode  Island  with  64.8;  New  Hampshire 
with  63.1;  Maine  with  54.3;  New  York  with  46.6;  Dela- 
ware with  37;  Maryland  with  33.9;  and  Ohio  with  31.5. 

New  England  had  72.4  names  in  "Who's  Who"  for  every 
100,000  of  its  population  in  1880.  Other  sections  of  the 
country  trailed  along.  Dr.  Nearing  shows  that  surprisingly 
large  numbers  of  eminent  persons  whose  names  appear  in 
"Who's  Who"  were  born  before  1850.  The  eminent  persons 
who  were  alive  in  1913  were  for  the  most  part  well  along  in 
life.  Only  one  in  a  hundred  was  born  since  1880;  only  four- 
teen in  a  hundred  were  born  since  1870.  More  than  a  quar- 
ter of  the  eminent  persons  were  born  before  1850. 

36 


SOME  OTHER  EARLY  NORTHAMPTON 
CELEBRITIES 

HAVING  already  given  reason  why  this  volume  can- 
not record  in  detail  the  history  of  the  great  North- 
ampton families,  prior  to  the  present  generation, 
there  still  remains  to  be  mentioned,  something,  in  a  general 
way,  what  a  few  of  the  great  men  of  these  prominent  families 
were  noted  for. 

First,  there  were,  before  Jonathan  Edwards  and  his 
family,  in  and  about  the  years  1670-1690,  those  early  settlers, 
Elder  John  Strong,  Lieutenant  William  Clark,  Thomas  Judd, 
John  King,  John  Lyman,  Samuel  Wright,  Caleb  Pomeroy, 
Captain  Aaron  Cooke,  Joseph  Parsons,  Nathaniel  Phelps,  and 
Enos  Kingsley,  all  ranging  from  the  age  of  sixty  to  seventy- 
five  years  when  they  left  this  mortal  life.  They  were  truly 
the  seed  of  the  generation  which  made  Northampton  great  and 
influential  in  the  family  of  towns  of  the  State.  Lieutenant 
William  Clark,  in  particular,  was  notable  as  the  ancestor  of 
all  the  Clarks  in  this  region  and  many  farther  away  —  to 
the  number,  it  is  said,  of  nearly  a  thousand.  Joseph  Parsons 
was  the  husband  of  Mary  Parsons,  who  was  tried  for  witch- 
craft in  1674,  but  acquitted. 

The  period  of  the  Revolution  against  Great  Britain  fur- 
nished men  of  local  prominence  in  General  Seth  Pomeroy  and 
Major  Joseph  Hawley.  The  life  of  General  Pomeroy  is 
familiar  to  every  Northampton  schoolboy  who  knows  any- 
thing about  local  history.     He  was  one  of  thirty  Northamp- 

37 


38  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

ton  men  who  gave  their  lives  in  the  service  of  their  country 
in  the  war.  Prominent  among  the  characteristics  of  this 
remarkable  man  was  his  strict  adherence  to  principle.  It  is 
related  of  him  that  on  one  occasion  he  said  to  his  son  Lemuel, 
"Lem,  never  fear  to  do  your  duty,  no  matter  where  it  calls 
you,  no  matter  how  great  the  danger.  But  if  ever  you  are 
tempted  to  do  a  mean  thing  or  a  wrong  thing,  be  the  greatest 
coward  in  the  world." 

The  name  of  Hawley  is  an  important  one  in  Northamp- 
ton history.  The  first  of  that  name  was  Captain  Joseph 
Hawley,  who  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1674,  in  a  class  of 
three,  and  came  at  once  to  Northampton.  He  was  highly 
honored  in  many  ways,  and  he  and  his  wife  (Lydia  Mar- 
shall) were  the  ancestors,  on  the  mother's  side,  of  the  two 
professors,  Josiah  D.  Whitney  of  Yale,  and  Maria  Whitney 
of  Smith  College. 

Lieutenant  Joseph  Hawley,  the  third  child  of  his  father- 
namesake  (born  in  1682)  married  rather  late  in  life  Rebecca 
Stoddard,  the  eleventh  child  of  the  Rev.  Solomon  Stoddard, 
the  second  minister  of  Northampton.  History  records  a 
melancholy  ending  of  Lieutenant  Hawley's  life  by  suicide, 
following  a  long  spell  of  religious  hypochondria. 

However,  that  marriage  uniting  the  Hawley  and  Stod- 
dard families,  gave  to  the  region  and  the  thirteen  colonies 
one  of  the  most  inspiring  advocates  and  actors  in  that  struggle 
for  freedom  from  British  domination  which  preceded  the 
Revolution.  This  was  in  the  person  of  the  third  Joseph 
(Major)  Hawley. 

Major  Hawley  furnished  an  instance  of  patriotic  pride 
which  has  come  down  to  us,  to  the  effect  that,  in  a  despond- 
ing mood,  expressing  doubt  as  to  the  result  of  the  revolu- 
tionary struggle,  he  said,  in  an  interview  with  Caleb  Strong, 
"  We  shall  both  be  hung,"  —  for  their  sentiments  and  speeches 


Other  Early  Northampton  Celebrities  39 

in  public.  To  this  Strong  replied,  "No,  Major,  probably 
not  more  than  forty  will  be  hung,  and  we  shall  escape." 
Hawley  was  aroused  by  this  and  replied  in  his  energetic 
way,  "I  will  have  you  know  that  I  am  one  of  the  first  three." 

When  delegates  were  chosen  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, Major  Hawley  was  among  the  most  eligible  of  candi- 
dates, but  declined  to  accept  the  position  and  the  choice  fell 
on  his  friend,  John  Adams,  to  whom  he  addressed  a  letter 
concerning  certain  propositions  which  he  denominated 
"Broken  Hints,"  for  the  consideration  of  himself  and  his  col- 
leagues. This  document  was  placed  before  the  delegation 
and  by  them  presented  to  the  prominent  men  from  other 
colonies.  When  the  contents  of  that  paper  were  made 
known  to  Patrick  Henry  and  he  heard  the  sentiment,  "  Fight 
we  must  unless  Britain  retreats,"  he  exclaimed,  "By  — ,  I 
am  of  that  man's  mind." 

And  it  was  this  third  Joseph  Hawley  who  left  a  portion 
of  his  real  estate,  nearly  one  thousand  acres  (afterward  con- 
verted into  the  Hawley  Fund  of  about  three  thousand  dol- 
lars) for  the  benefit  of  the  higher  town  schools. 

Coming  now  to  the  times  of  peace,  stands  resplendent 
the  name  of  another  one  of  Northampton's  most  distin- 
guished citizens,  Caleb  Strong  —  in  some  respects  the  most 
distinguished.  He  was  born  in  1745,  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1764,  and  studied  law  with  Major  Hawley.  He 
was  county  attorney  for  twenty-four  years  and  a  member 
of  the  Legislature,  in  both  branches,  in  all  fourteen  years, 
and  assisted  in  forming  the  constitution  of  Massachusetts 
in  1779  and  of  the  United  States  in  1787.  He  was  also 
United  States  Senator  two  years  and  Governor  of  the  State 
eleven  years. 

Colonel  Timothy  Dwight,  another  illustrious  citizen,  al- 
though born  long  before  the  Revolution,  was  the  ancestor  of 


40  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

the  numerous  later  family  of  Dwights,  famous  even  to  the 
present  day,  in  descendants  living.  It  is  related  of  Colonel 
Timothy,  that  in  1740  he  was  the  recipient  of  the  first  case 
of  tea  which  came  into  Northampton  from  Boston,  and  that 
Mrs.  Dwight  boiled  a  whole  pound  of  it  at  once,  as  one  would 
a  lot  of  dried  herbs,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 
bitterness  of  it  made  her,  with  a  single  taste  of  it,  throw  it 
away  in  disgust. 

Major  Timothy  Dwight,  remarkable  scion  of  this  family, 
was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  and  for  many  years  a  judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  somewhat  corresponding  to 
the  District  Court  of  today.  Physically  he  was  a  remark- 
able man,  of  large  stature  and  corresponding  strength,  and  it 
is  related  of  him  that  he  emulated  his  father,  who  was  not- 
able in  muscular  exploits.  Among  the  feats  recorded  of  his 
prowess  are  those  of  lifting  five  hundred  pounds  weight  of 
flour  into  a  wagon,  and  throwing  a  stone  across  the  Con- 
necticut River,  "  forty  rods  from  the  point  where  he  stood  and 
thirty  rods  beyond,  in  all  1165  feet." 

Timothy  Dwight,  the  son  of  Major  Timothy  (his  mother 
was  the  third  daughter  of  Jonathan  Edwards)  was  president 
of  Yale  College  from  1795  to  1817,  the  year  of  his  decease. 

To  follow  the  records  of  all  the  noted  Northampton 
families  of  past  generations,  would  require  too  great  and  un- 
necessary a  pursuit  of  genealogical  lore.  Those  curious  in 
such  matters  would  find  a  most  admirable  study  of  this 
subject  in  two  books  written  by  the  late  Rev.  Solomon  Clark, 
a  native  of  Northampton,  once  a  minister  of  Plainfield,  and 
every  Northampton  man,  woman,  and  child  who  has  local 
pride  in  the  place  of  their  birth  and  their  ancestors  or  fore- 
fathers, should  read  Mr.  Clark's  painstaking  work. 


Christopher  Clarke 


TTie  Clarke  Coat  of  Arms 


41 


CHRISTOPHER  CLARKE 

Public-Spirited  and  "All-round  Citizen" 

AS  a  most  important  scion  of  one  of  Northampton's 
oldest  families  Christopher  Clarke  furnishes  a  nota- 
ble genealogical  sketch. 

Mr.  Clarke  was  born  in  Northampton  January  4,  1827, 
the  son  of  Christopher  Clarke  and  Harriet  Butler.  His 
grandfathers  were  Samuel  Clarke  and  William  Butler,  the 
latter  the  first  book  publisher  in  Northampton  and  also 
founder  of  the  Northampton  Gazette.  His  grandmothers 
were  Jerusha  Phillips  of  Boston,  and  Huldah  Brown  Butler 
of  Northampton.  The  first  Christopher  Clarke  was  a  mer- 
chant, and  his  sons,  Augustus  and  Christopher  2d,  succeeded 
him  in  the  same  line. 

The  immigrant  ancestor  of  this  family  was  Captain  Daniel 
Clarke  of  Chester,  England,  who  came  to  Windsor,  Connecticut, 
about  1636,  settling  there  with  his  uncle,  Ephraim  Huet 
to  whom,  with  six  more  patentees,  the  town  of  Windsor  was 
granted.  The  above-named  Captain  Daniel  Clarke  was 
secretary  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut  from  1659  to  1666 
inclusive,  and  for  several  years  a  magistrate. 

In  childhood  and  youth  the  subject  of  this  sketch  had  an 
intense  love  for  music  and  an  unusually  sweet  voice  for  a 
child.  He  sang  solos  in  children's  concerts,  and  at  an  early 
age  was  a  member  of  the  Unitarian  Church  choir.  Later  he 
was  prominent  in  the  town's  famous  "Choral  Union"  and 
other  musical  organizations,  all  financially  successful. 

43 


44  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


Christopher  Clarke,  the  boy,  began  an  apprenticeship 
in  the  store  of  his  brother  Augustus  Clarke  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen, with  wages  for  the  first  year  of  thirty  dollars,  and  five 
dollars  per  year  increase  until  he  "graduated"  at  nineteen. 

Being  fond  of  books,  his  public  spirit,  for  which  his  life 
has  been  so  distinguished,  prompted  him  to  the  leading  part 
in  raising  funds  for  the  construction  of  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Clarke  Library  and  Memorial  Hall  Building,  to  honor 
both  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  War  and  to  properly  house 
the  books  of  the  Northampton  Free  Public  Library,  which 
up  to  that  time  had  been  kept  in  the  town  hall.  The  amount 
of  money  Mr.  Clarke  secured  for  this  purpose  was  nearly 
eighty  thousand  dollars,  including  the  endowment  of  forty- 
two  thousand  dollars  furnished  by  his  uncle,  John  Clarke, 
to  which  the  uncle  later  added  the  sum  of  five  thousand 
dollars  toward  the  building  fund.  It  is  a  notable  fact  that 
the  Clarke  Library  Building  with  its  Memorial  Hall,  was 
the  first  large  free  public  library  building  in  a  town  in  this 
country.    It  was  opened  for  public  use  in  June,  1874. 

Mr.  Clarke  has  attributed  his  success  in  life  largely  to 
his  constant  association  with  a  superior  class  of  men  and 
women  in  Northampton  (which  he  always  called  "the  lead- 
ing town  in  the  State");  also  to  his  intense  love  of  nature 
in  all  its  phases,  and  to  music,  which  made  him  an  "all- 
round"  man  and  public-spirited  citizen,  interested  in  and 
ready  to  aid  all  good  causes  with  personal  service  and  money. 
To  one  who  knew  him  long  it  has  seemed  that  Mr.  Clarke's 
modesty  did  not  permit  him  to  state  other  leading  causes 
of  his  success.  These  include  notably  his  excellent  health  and 
long  life,  and  his  unfailing  good  nature,  cheerfulness,  and 
regular  habits.  It  is  a  fact  worth  mentioning  that  no  one 
ever  heard  him  speak  ill  of  any  one  —  an  unusual  charac- 
teristic.    Rallied,   at  one  time,  on  his  abundant  cheerful- 


Christopher  Clarke 


45 


Christopher  Clarke  47 


ness,  by  a  friend,  he  responded,  "  I  make  it  a  point  to 
smile  rather  than  show  anger,  as  I  have  found  that  anger 
makes  me  ill,  and  I  suffer  for  hours  afterward,  if  I  indulge 
in  it." 

Could  a  stronger  recommendation  be  given  the  doctrine 
taught  by  mental  healers  and  practical  metaphysicians,  so 
far  as  such  doctrine  relates  in  the  discipline  of  mind  toward 
making  for  health?  His  fellow-citizens  have  often  been 
stopped  and  button-holed  by  him  on  the  street,  to  listen  to 
his  stories,  and  he  has  doubtless  chased  away  many  a  fit  of 
the  blues. 

His  principal  public  service,  probably,  was  the  promo- 
tion and  acquisition  of  several  public  State  reservations, 
including  Mount  Tom,  Mount  Nonotuck,  Mount  Sugar 
Loaf,  Deer  Hill,  and  last  of  all,  in  the  organization  of  a  corpo- 
ration for  the  purchase  of  Mount  Holyoke,  which  seemed 
likely  at  one  time  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  private  speculators 
who  would  have  had  no  care  for  its  scenic  preservation. 
Mr.  Clarke  succeeded  in  bringing  this  property  (world- 
renowned  as  furnishing  "the  finest  cultivated  view  in  New 
England")  within  the  reach  of  all  the  people,  by  a  fine  road 
to  the  summit  hotel.  This  road,  of  the  most  enduring 
macadam,  cost  over  thirty  thousand  dollars  and  makes  the 
summit  easily  accessible  by  automobiles  and  pedestrians,  with- 
out charge. 

Mr.  Clarke  also  planned  the  beautiful  four-mile  drive 
about  half  way  up  the  summit  of  Mount  Tom  (from  the 
Easthampton  mountain  road  to  Holyoke  to  the  Mount  Tom 
railroad  station)  and  when  this  was  opened  to  the  public  the 
reservation  authorities  named  it  the  "Christopher  Clarke 
Road." 

Mr.  Clarke  also  succeeded  in  securing  two  forest  reserva- 
tions in  Williamsburg,  contributed  by  Mrs.  Edward  Nash 


48  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

and  Mrs.  L.  D.  James.  For  many  years  he  has  worked 
for  a  uniform  building  line  on  the  south  side  of  Main  Street, 
above  Crafts'  Avenue,  meaning  thereby  to  establish  a  uni- 
form line-front  for  all  the  public  buildings  on  that  side  of 
the  street  from  and  inclusive  of  the  City  Hall  to  the  beginning 
of  West  Street.  To  this  end  he  procured  the  services  of  a 
landscape  gardener  and  scenic  draftsman,  to  show  how  the 
street  might  be  thus  improved.  In  this  plan  was  included 
a  suggestion  how  a  considerable  space  of  ground  between 
Memorial  Hall  and  the  Academy  of  Music  might  be  utilized 
as  a  small  park  or  outdoor  resting-place  for  citizens.  This 
met  with  prompt  popular  approbation.  In  a  short  time  other 
public-spirited  citizens  joined  him  in  the  project,  contributed 
funds,  and  procured  the  establishment  of  the  present  Public 
Gardens.  But  Mr.  Clarke's  plans  for  the  improvement  of 
Main  Street,  in  the  locality  referred  to,  went  still  further. 
He  urged  the  erection  of  a  new  City  Hall  on  a  line  with  the 
other  public  buildings,  and  although  this  part  of  his  design  has 
not  yet  matured,  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  it  will  before 
many  years. 

Mr.  Clarke's  public  services  have  included  help  in  many 
directions  for  different  meritorious  enterprises,  and  his  life- 
long acquaintance  with  old  and  former  residents  (those 
removed  still  taking  pride  in  the  "grand  old  town")  made 
him  a  valuable  aid,  for  many  years  back,  to  any  project 
of  public  interest  which  required  pecuniary  support  for  a 
foundation. 

If  ever  the  day  shall  come,  to  future  generations  of 
readers  of  these  records,  when  the  gorge  on  the  Connecticut 
River,  between  the  mountains  Tom  and  Holyoke  shall  be 
spanned  by  a  suspension  bridge,  it  should  be  remembered 
that  Christopher  Clarke  made  the  first  suggestion  of  this 
enterprise.    Mr.  Clarke's  ideas  to  this  end  were  embodied  in 


Sideboard  in  the  Clarke  House 


"Sir  Christopher"  at  His  Ain  Fireside 
49 


Christopher  Clarke  51 


an  article  published  in  a  Sunday  edition  of  the  Springfield 
Republican  and  contemplated  an  airy-like  structure  high  over 
the  river,  from  Titan's  Pier  on  the  Hockanum  side,  to  a 
point  on  Mount  Tom,  where  the  acclivity  of  the  Christopher 
Clarke  Road  fairly  begins  to  show  itself  on  the  east  side  of 
the  mountain.  It  does  not  seem  at  all  improbable  that  the 
day  will  come  when  this  enterprise  will  be  carried  out,  for 
it  must  prove  not  only  useful  to  the  general  public,  but  a 
never-ending  source  of  delight  to  automobilists  and  other 
tourists. 

He  never  sought  nor  held  any  political  office,  though 
always  an  influential  and  popular  member  of  the  Republican 
party.  As  such  he  always  acted  in  delegate  capacity  when 
called  on  to  attend  the  old-time  conventions,  and  he  often 
helped  the  party  machine  get  out  the  vote.  He  has  recalled 
with  much  gusto  his  experiences  with  the  "Wide- Awake" 
boys  in  the  Lincoln-Hamlin  campaign  of  1860-61. 

Mr.  Clarke  was  chairman  of  the  first  City  Improvement 
Committee,  and  City  Forester  for  over  thirty  years.  He  is 
a  veteran  fireman  and  the  inventor  of  the  Clarke  tower  fire 
escape,  an  original  and  novel  apparatus  of  great  value  for 
the  preservation  of  life  and  property  from  fire  and  panic,  and 
he  was  granted  patents  on  this  invention  in  this  and  several 
foreign  countries. 

Referring  again  to  Mr.  Clarke's  qualities  as  a  musician, 
further  note  should  be  made  to  his  local  services  to  his  fellow- 
citizens  in  the  promotion  and  procurement  of  rare,  sterling 
musical  attractions  for  the  people  of  Northampton  and 
vicinity.  Mention  has  been  made  of  his  connection  with 
Dr.  Meekins  in  the  famous  "Choral  Union."  In  1860  Mr. 
Clarke,  with  Dr.  Meekins  as  musical  director  and  manager, 
organized  a  company  of  the  musical  citizens  of  the  town  and 
produced  the  opera  of  "II  Trovatore,"  which  was  given  in 


52  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

the  town  hall  with  great  success.  This  opera  was  the  first 
given  in  this  country  by  amateur  performers,  the  soloists, 
chorus,  and  large  orchestra  being  citizens  of  the  town.  The 
principal  solo  parts  were  taken  by  Mrs.  T.  W.  Meekins, 
Dr.  T.  W.  Meekins,  Miss  Julia  Warner  Shepard,  William  H. 
Clark,  and  Christopher  Clarke.  Extra  trains  were  run  in  all 
directions,  and  the  three  successful  performances  gave  North- 
ampton a  well-deserved  reputation  all  over  New  England, 
as  a  thoroughly  musical  town,  a  reputation  she  still  holds. 
It  should  be  remembered  Mr.  Clarke's  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing the  famous  "  Swedish  nightingale,"  Jenny  Lind,  here,  for  a 
concert  in  July,  1851,  at  the  "Old"  Church.  She  came  from 
Springfield  in  a  barouche,  drawn  by  four  white  horses,  and  the 
crowd  which  heard  her  was  so  great  that  she  had  to  be  admitted 
through  a  window  at  the  rear  of  the  church,  just  back  of  the  pul- 
pit. It  was  necessary  to  raise  a  guarantee  fund  of  three  thousand 
dollars  to  bring  her  to  Northampton,  but  this  was  furnished  by 
William  H.  Stoddard,  George  A.  Burr,  and  Mr.  Clarke.  The 
receipts  of  the  concert  were  forty-five  hundred  dollars. 

Mention  of  the  versatility  of  Mr.  Clarke's  enterprise 
must  include  notice  of  the  fact  that  he  sympathized  with  all 
the  healthful  sports  of  the  rising  generation,  was  a  member 
of  one  of  the  earliest  baseball  clubs  in  the  town,  and  has 
promoted  and  financed  several  teams  since. 

It  was  a  pleasing  event  to  Mr.  Clarke  when  his  fellow- 
citizens,  without  waiting  for  him  to  pass  off  the  earthly 
stage,  decided  to  give  him  a  public  tribute  of  appreciation 
on  his  eightieth  birthday.  This  took  the  form  of  an  assem- 
blage of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  most  prominent 
citizens  at  a  dinner,  with  notable  addresses. 

In  1915,  not  long  after  the  foregoing  matter  had  been 
written  and  had  received  the  approval  of  Mr.  Clarke,  he 
passed  away  in  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 


Henry  S.  Gere 


The  Gere  Coat  of  Arms 


53 


HENRY  S.  GERE 

A  Conspicuous  Representative  Country  Editor 

THIS  is  the  story  of  a  plain  country  editor,  who 
did  much  good  in  his  day  and  generation,  through 
uprightness,  industry,  close  application,  and  fre- 
quent exercise  of  civic  spirit,  both  with  his  pen  and  in  public 
speech. 

Henry  S.  Gere  was  born  in  Williamsburg,  April  30, 
1828,  a  son  of  Edward  and  Arabella .  Williams  Gere.  His 
ancestry  early  attracted  and  attached  him  to  Northampton, 
for  here  his  paternal  grandfather,  Isaac  Gere,  a  jeweler, 
lived  and  built  the  first  brick  block,  opposite  the  First 
Church. 

Mr.  Gere's  father  graduated  at  Yale  College  and  was 
seeking  a  professional  career,  when  ill  health  turned  him  to 
farm  life  in  Williamsburg.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Gross 
Williams,  landlord  of  the  Williams  House. 

Henry  S.  Gere  had  a  common  school  education  in  his 
native  town,  and  followed  this  with  a  term  at  Wilbraham 
Academy  and  Williston  Seminary,  entering  the  latter  insti- 
tution the  year  it  was  opened. 

At  seventeen  years  of  age  he  had  his  first  smell  of 
printers'  ink,  when  he  began  work  in  the  office  of  the  Hamp- 
shire Herald,  in  Northampton.     The  Herald  was  a  weekly 

55 


56  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

paper  printed  on  an  old-fashioned  Washington  hand  press, 
and  Mr.  Gere  must  have  been  an  easy  learner  and  early 
acquired  confidence  as  a  writer,  for  he  became  editor  of  the 
paper  two  years  after  he  entered  the  office.  In  1848  the 
Herald  and  the  Courier  were  consolidated.  Mr.  Gere  was 
at  first  assistant  editor  of  the  combined  papers.  Later  he 
became  editor  and  proprietor.  In  1858  the  Courier  was 
combined  with  the  Gazette,  and  the  publication  continued 
under  the  firm  name  of  Trumbull  and  Gere,  the  late  James 
R.  Trumbull,  Northampton's  historian,  being  the  junior 
partner. 

Mr.  Gere  early  showed  his  conscientiousness  as  editor 
by  uniting  with  the  "free  soil"  party,  which  he  followed  to 
the  only  legitimate  conclusion,  the  complete  abolition  of 
negro  slavery. 

His  editorials  were  strong  and  forceful.  He  used  no 
redundant  phraseology  and  fell  into  no  tautology.  Plain 
English  words,  with  the  most  direct  combinations  to  express 
his  meaning,  were  good  enough  for  him.  He  had  a  sober 
purpose  in  all  his  writings;  he  wrote  nothing  merely  to  pro- 
voke a  laugh  or  excite  ridicule.  He  used  sarcasm  or  humor 
sparingly,  but  always  held  the  attention  of  his  readers  by  the 
orderliness  of  his  statement  and  the  coherence  of  his  argu- 
ment, on  large  matters  editorially,  while  in  his  discussion  of 
local  affairs  he  was  particularly  forceful,  because  his  judg- 
ment was  direct  and  practical.  He  always  informed  himself 
thoroughly  of  what  he  was  writing  about  and  stated  his 
conclusions  clearly  in  a  few  words. 

On  public  occasion  he  often  proved  himself  a  good 
speaker,  especially  at  the  old  town  meetings,  where  he  gave 
excellent  advice,  tending  to  all  needed  public  spirit,  but 
infused  with  calls  for  prudence  and  economy.  He  un- 
doubtedly was  the  leading  means  of  reviving  the  old  "Three 


Henry  S.  Gere 


57 


Henry  S.  Gere  59 


Counties"  agricultural  society,  through  a  vigorous  speech, 
January  7,  1903,  when  he  made  a  rousing  appeal  for  courage 
and  progress.  The  society,  now  nearly  a  century  old,  had 
fallen  on  hard  times  a  few  years  ago,  but  Mr.  Gere's  cheer- 
ing and  inspiring  words  had  the  effect  of  a  rallying  cry 
from  a  brave  general  to  disorganized  forces.  The  society 
made  a  fresh  start,  and  its  success  has  been  uninterrupted  ever 
since.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  recall  his  personal 
bearing.  He  had  a  commanding  figure,  taller  by  a  foot  than 
that  of  the  average  man,  and  his  peculiar  but  sparing  gesticu- 
lation contributed  greatly  to  the  force  of  any  address  he  was 
making. 

As  a  compiler  of  local  history  Mr.  Gere  was  notable. 
Having  a  most  retentive  memory  and  a  long  life  acquaintance 
with  men,  things,  and  events  in  his  generation,  he  was  able, 
with  his  skillful  pen,  to  present  the  facts  of  the  past 
years  in  a  most  readable  and  attractive  form.  The  large 
edition  of  his  paper,  published  at  the  two  hundred  and 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the  town  of  North- 
ampton was  a  fine  piece  of  country  newspaper  work,  embrac- 
ing, as  it  did,  a  compendium  of  the  important  events  in  local 
history  every  year  from  the  settlement  of  the  town  to  the  time 
of  the  celebration.  Another  excellent  work  of  his  was 
the  publication,  about  the  same  time,  of  a  pamphlet  of 
reminiscences.  This  collection  will  be  of  increasing  value  in 
the  history  of  this  region,  as  time  goes  on. 

Mr.  Gere  married,  August  22,  1849,  Martha,  daughter 
of  Simeon  P.  and  Dorcas  Clapp  Clark  of  Easthampton.  She 
died  May  6,  1906.  Their  children,  living,  are  George  S., 
proprietor  of  the  Gazette  job  printing  business;  Collins  H. 
and  Edward  C,  who  were  in  partnership  with  their  father 
in  the  publication  of  the  Gazette;  William  H.;  Miss  Mary 
E.,  a  graduate  of  Smith  College  and  a  former  teacher  in 


60  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Western  Female  college  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  and  Northfield 
Seminary;  and  Miss  Martha  F.,  former  assistant  librarian 
in  the  Clarke  Library.  There  are  also  three  grandchildren 
and  two  great  grandchildren. 

Holding,  as  he  did,  such  a  commanding  position  as  an 
editor,  it  was  natural  that  Mr.  Gere  should  have  been  more 
or  less  active  in  political  work  and  that  he  should  have  been 
recognized  in  the  distribution  of  some  of  the  emoluments 
of  civil  office.  He  was  an  intimate  adviser  for  many  years 
in  the  councils  of  the  leaders  of  the  Republican  party  organiza- 
tion, headed  committees,  and  in  1858  was  chosen  County 
Treasurer.  This  office  he  held  for  eighteen  years.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  Republican  county  committee  for  twenty- 
five  years,  a  member  of  the  Northampton  School  Committee 
for  six  years,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  a  trustee  of 
the  Northampton  Institution  for  Savings.  He  was  also  a 
prominent  member  of  the  old  agricultural  society,  the  presi- 
dency of  which  he  declined. 

Mr.  Gere  was  of  too  patriotic  a  mold  to  ignore  the  call 
of  his  country  to  arms  in  1861,  and  he  enlisted  in  the  52d 
regiment,  and  became  postmaster  for  the  Army  of  the  Miss- 
issippi at  Baton  Rouge.  The  52d  regiment  association  was 
formed  in  1866,  and  Mr.  Gere  was  chosen  its  secretary  and 
treasurer,  an  office  which  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

As  a  lover  of  nature  Mr.  Gere  was  also  notable,  and  he 
delighted  his  readers  with  refreshing  accounts  of  his  annual 
visits  to  the  hill  towns,  describing  the  attractions  of  that 
region  in  graphic  and  ever  new  viewpoints.  He  had  a  model 
garden  at  his  beautiful  homestead  on  High  Street  and  took 
much  pleasure  in  working  there  in  his  later  years. 

When  Mr.  Gere  reached  his  eightieth  year,  in  1908,  he 
was  given  a  banquet  by  the  editors  of  western  Massachusetts, 
at  Cooley's  Hotel  in  Springfield.     He  was  then  believed  to 


The  Gere  Family's  "Grandfather's  Clock" 

Made  by  Henry  S.  Gere's  grandfather  (Isaac  Gere)  the  first  jeweler  in  Northampton 


61 


The  Gere  Homestead 


63 


Henry  S.  Gere 


65 


be  the  editor  of  longest  service  in  New  England.  He  was 
at  that  time  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  editorial  work.  After- 
ward he  gradually  relinquished  writing,  and  presently  aban- 
doned it  altogether. 

What  more  can  be  said  about  this  interesting  old 
journalist?  In  the  course  of  his  long  life  he  doubtless  made 
many  enemies.  Few  men  in  his  profession  fail  to  do  so, 
but  how  often  the  public  forget  the  thousands  of  paragraphs 
of  kindly  praise  which  an  editor  gives,  year  in  and  out,  to 
the  men  and  women  of  his  time.  The  editor,  like  the  preacher, 
helps  form  the  character  of  his  times,  and  he  is  rarely  appre- 
ciated as  he  should  be  until  he  has  passed  away. 


L.  CLARK  SEELYE 

The  Builder  of  Smith  College 

THERE  can  be  no  dispute  as  to  L.  Clark  Seelye  being 
the  builder  of  Smith  College;  for  during  thirty-seven 
years,  from  its  very  beginnings,  he  presided  over  the 
institution,  and  molded  it  to  general  public  satisfaction.  More- 
over, he  developed  it  to  remarkable  and  unexpected  success. 

President  Seelye  did  not  arrive  in  Northampton  un- 
known. He  had  been  prominent  in  the  Congregational 
Church  and  ministry  in  a  neighboring  city,  and  a  professor  in 
a  nearby  college,  but  it  was  a  surprise  to  many  that  he  should 
come  to  this  place  in  the  capacity  of  college  president. 

He  was  born  in  Bethel,  Connecticut,  September  20,  1837. 
His  father  was  Seth,  born  in  1795,  and  the  latter's  father  was 
Nathan  Seelye  of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut. 

Mrs.  L.  Clark  Seelye's  father  was  Lyman  Chapin  of 
Albany,  and  his  father  was  Silas  Chapin  of  Springfield. 

The  children  of  President  and  Mrs.  Seelye  are:  Dr. 
Ralph  Holland  Seelye  of  Springfield;  Harriet  Chapin  Seelye, 
who  married  Rush  Rhees,  President  of  Rochester  University; 
Abigail  Taylor  Seelye,  who  married  Dr.  Charles  L.  Scudder, 
and  now  resides  in  Boston;  Arthur  Moody  Seelye,  who  died 
in  1895  aged  24  years;  Dr.  Walter  Clark  Seelye  of  Worcester; 
Henrietta  Sheldon  Seelye,  who  married  Professor  William 
Gray  of  Smith  College;  and  Bertram  Seelye  who  died  in 
1880  aged  one  year. 

Laurenus  Clark  Seelye  obtained  his  early  education  in 
private  schools  in  his  native  state.  In  1853  he  entered  Union 
College  at  Schenectady,  New  York,  and  graduated  from  it  in 

66 


President  (Emeritus)  L.  Clark  Seelye  of  Smith  College 
with  a  Grandson 


67 


L.  Clark  Seelye  69 


1857,  taking  the  degree  of  A.B.  In  1858  he  was  a  student  at 
Andover  Theological  Seminary.  He  then  went  abroad  and, 
until  1862,  traveled  in  Europe,  Egypt,  and  Palestine,  and 
continued  his  studies  in  the  universities  of  Berlin  and  Hei- 
delberg. He  received  the  degree  of  D.D.  from  Union  Col- 
lege in  1875;  and  of  LL.D.  from  Amherst  College  in  1894, 
and  in  1913  from  Union  and  Smith  colleges.  He  married  in 
1863,  and  the  same  year  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  North 
Congregational  Church  of  Springfield.  After  two  years  and 
a  half  of  pastoral  work  he  accepted  a  professorship  in  Am- 
herst College,  where  he  remained  from  1865  to  1873,  when 
he  became  president  of  the  new  college  in  Northampton. 

Not  many  people  of  the  present  day  will  remember  the 
fact  that  there  was  some  feeling  displayed  by  a  small  fraction 
of  the  townspeople  to  the  effect  that  the  new  college  should 
be  presided  over  by  a  woman.  This  feeling  was  voiced  in  a 
local  paper  published  in  the  early  70's.  But  the  founder  of 
the  college,  Miss  Sophia  Smith,  of  Hatfield,  had  made  it 
plain,  by  the  terms  of  her  will,  that  men  should  have  a  leading 
part  in  the  college  government  and  instruction.  "For  it  is 
a  misfortune,"  she  said,  "that  women  should  be  educated 
wholly  by  their  own  kind."  The  selection  of  Professor 
Seelye  was  in  accordance  with  this  provision.  If  those  in 
favor  of  a  woman  president  had  had  their  way,  it  is  said  that 
Elizabeth  Powell  Bond,  of  Florence,  would  have  been  put 
prominently  forward  for  the  position.  She  was  unques- 
tionably a  woman  intellectually  fitted  for  the  place,  but  some 
man  of  many  qualifications  was  sorely  needed  in  the  trying 
first  years  of  the  institution,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  any 
one  else  could  have  so  fully  met  the  necessities  of  that  time 
as  Professor  Seelye. 

The  institution  was  chartered  in  1871,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  informally  offered  the  presidency  by 


70  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


the  trustees  who  had  been  appointed  to  select  the  head 
of  the  college,  the  tangible  equipment  of  which  consisted  of 
the  two  adjoining  homesteads  of  Judge  Lyman  and  Judge 
Dewey,  and  a  fund  of  $386,608.29  from  the  estate  of  Sophia 
Smith.  The  board  of  trustees  consisted  of  eleven  men  named 
by  Miss  Sophia  in  her  will. 

Professor  Seelye  declined  the  first  overture,  as  it  seemed 
to  him  that  the  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  trustees  were 
wholly  inadequate  to  develop  the  carefully  thought-out 
plans  of  the  founder  of  the  college.  However,  he  was  per- 
suaded to  reconsider  his  answer  and,  on  June  17,  1873,  was 
unanimously  elected  president.  Miss  Smith's  will  provided 
that  half  of  the  entire  bequest  might  be  used  for  buildings, 
but  the  new  president  realized  that  all  this  money  was 
needed  for  a  permanent  fund.  He  therefore  conditioned 
his  acceptance  on  the  postponement  for  two  years  of  the  open- 
ing of  the  college  so  that  the  interest  of  the  fund  might 
accumulate  to  furnish  money  for  the  erection  of  buildings, 
and  that  more  time  might  be  given  to  do  the  preliminary 
work  necessary  to  the  success  of  such  an  undertaking. 

Therefore  the  college  did  not  actually  open  to  students 
until  September  9,  1875,  five  years  after  Miss  Smith's  death. 
The  equipment  then  consisted  of  three  buildings — College  Hall, 
which  is  the  present  administration  building,  the  president's 
house,  and  the  Dewey  house  —  on  land  which  the  town  of 
Northampton  had  contributed  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
to  buy.  There  were  four  resident  teachers  and  fourteen 
students  present  at  the  first  chapel  exercises  presided  over 
by  President  Seelye.  The  single  class,  all  of  whom  pursued 
the  same  studies,  required  but  one  recitation  room. 

President  Seelye's  judgment  and  foresight  were  well 
illustrated  at  the  inception  of  the  college  by  his  determina- 
tion that  the  institution  should  have  no  preparatory  depart- 


L.  Clark  Seelye  71 


ment  connected  with  it,  and  that  its  intellectual  standard 
should  be  equal  to  that  of  men's  colleges.  This  course 
attracted  unusual  attention  all  over  the  country,  as  up  to 
that  time  no  college  for  women  had  been  started  without  a 
preparatory  department;  none  had  required  Greek  for  en- 
trance, and  the  quality  and  the  quantity  of  the  work  asked 
for  in  other  women's  colleges  were  below  that  required  in 
colleges  for  men.  There  was  much  doubt  expressed  at  the 
time  by  prominent  educators  as  to  the  practicability  of 
President  Seelye's  course,  but  the  steady  growth  of  the 
institution  with  its  high  standard  of  scholarship  evinced  the 
wisdom  of  his  decision. 

It  would  seem  difficult  to  teach  the  Bible  from  a  literary 
and  critical  point  of  view,  but  this  was  done  successfully  by 
President  Seelye  (as  it  has  also  been  done  by  his  successors) 
to  over  sixteen  hundred  girls  —  Catholic,  Protestant,  Jew, 
and  Gentile. 

The  development  of  the  cottage  system  was  something 
that  the  president  had  to  work  out  gradually,  because  limited 
resources  did  not  permit  the  building  of  dormitories  as  fast 
as  they  were  needed;  and  great  care  was  taken  in  the  selec- 
tion of  house  managers,  or  "house  mothers"  as  the  students 
were  led  to  call  them.  A  limited  campus  also  prevented  the 
president  from  carrying  out  his  cottage  plans  to  the  full. 
His  idea  was,  also,  that  the  students  should  learn  to  become 
good  wives  and  mothers,  and  they  were  encouraged  to  fit 
themselves  physically  as  well  as  mentally  and  morally  to 
become  home  makers. 

A  resume  of  the  tangible  assets  of  the  college,  showing 
its  remarkable  growth  should  be  recorded  here.  There  were, 
when  President  Seelye  laid  down  his  work,  one  hundred  and 
seven  members  of  the  faculty,  not  counting  five  physical  in- 
structors, five  librarians,  and  an  office  force  of  five.     There 


72  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

were  eighteen  college  houses  or  dormitories,  an  infirmary,  and 
a  hospital,  a  new  auditorium,  College  Hall  assembly  and 
recitation  rooms,  Seelye  Hall  recitation  rooms,  the  new 
library  building,  Lilly  Hall  of  Science,  Chemistry  Hall,  a 
finely  equipped  observatory,  Music  Hall,  Hillyer  Art  Gal- 
lery, the  Alumnae  Gymnasium,  the  Students  Building,  and 
the  Lyman  Plant  house.  Allen  recreation  field  and  its  club 
house  were  also  added  to  the  college  equipment  during  Pres- 
ident Seelye's  term  of  office.  The  assets  of  the  college,  July 
1,  1910,  amounted  to  $3,282,756. 

It  did  not  take  the  trustees  of  the  college  until  Presi- 
dent Seelye's  retirement  to  find  out  and  recognize  the  value 
of  the  work  done,  for  at  their  spring  meeting  in  1900  it 
was  voted  to  celebrate  the  completion  of  twenty-five  years 
of  academic  work  the  following  October.  At  this  celebra- 
tion there  were  exercises  by  the  undergraduates  and  alumnae, 
and  historical  addresses  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Bates,  Rev. 
John  M.  Greene,  and  President  Seelye.  The  presidents  of  six 
other  colleges  were  in  attendance  to  show  their  appreciation 
of  the  importance  of  the  occasion. 

But  the  fullest  triumph  for  President  Seelye  came  on  his 
formal  retirement,  according  to  his  own  wish,  in  1910,  at  the 
age  of  nearly  seventy-three  years.  The  trustees  and  graduates 
of  Smith  College  present  showed  themselves  to  be  most 
thoroughly  appreciative  of,  and  devoted  to,  the  honored 
head  of  the  institution. 

President  Seelye's  unique  term  of  service  had  continued 
from  the  inception  of  the  college  in  1873.  At  the  age  of 
seventy,  in  1907,  his  resignation  of  the  presidency  was  pre- 
sented to  the  trustees,  but  at  their  urgent  request  he  con- 
sented to  remain  in  active  service  until  some  one  could  be 
found  to  take  his  place.  In  April,  1909,  the  trustees  ap- 
pointed as  his  successor  Dr.  Marion  Le  Roy  Burton,  to  take 


L.  Clark  Seelye  73 


office  September  1,  1910.  Dr.  Burton  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment. In  May,  1910,  the  trustees  formally  accepted  the  resig- 
nation of  President  Seelye,  and  on  the  same  day  made  him 
President  Emeritus.  He  was  to  serve  as  acting  president 
until  September.  That  method  of  preparing  for  his  successor 
was  accepted  by  President  Seelye  because  it  spared  the 
college  officials  the  strain  and  worry  of  an  interregnum  which 
would  have  followed  his  retirement  closely  on  his  resignation. 

The  last  two  years  of  President  Seelye's  connection  with 
the  college  saw  the  removal  of  the  Hatfield  House,  the  com- 
pletion of  the  library  and  John  M.  Greene  Hall,  the  purchase 
of  the  Edwards  property,  and  the  beginning  of  the  Northrop 
and  Gillett  houses. 

The  closing  of  an  official  life  of  such  usefulness,  dignity, 
and  decorum  contributed  to  make  the  parting  formal  exer- 
cises an  occasion  most  memorable.  Some  gifts  there  must 
be  for  such  an  occasion,  and  the  trustees  gave  the  highest 
degree  in  their  power  when  they  bestowed  the  title  of  Presi- 
dent Emeritus.  The  faculty  presented  pieces  of  heavy 
silverware,  and  the  alumnae  gave  mahogany  furniture,  and 
rugs  for  the  president's  library. 

Since  his  retirement  from  the  college,  President  Seelye 
has  been  many  times  called  on  and  serenaded  at  his  beau- 
tiful home  on  Round  Hill  by  students  and  alumnae  of  the 
college,  and  now,  nearly  an  octogenarian,  he  still  enjoys  life, 
carrying  with  him  the  esteem  of  all  his  fellow  townsmen  by 
whom  he  is  considered  the  " First  Citizen"  of  Northampton. 

President  Seelye  has  shown  his  interest  in  local  affairs, 
social  and  business,  on  many  occasions.  He  has  often  been 
called  on  to  preside  at  public  meetings,  and  he  has  given 
counsel  on  important  committees  of  various  civic  bodies. 
He  was  prominent  in  the  various  gatherings  of  the  three 
days  Quarter-Millennial  celebration  of  the  city  in  1904,  and 


74  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

could  have  had  any  office  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow  citizens 
had  he  been  willing  to  take  it. 

Fitting  to  close  this  sketch  are  the  words  used  by  the 
Rev.  John  M.  Greene,  D.D.,  of  the  trustees,  at  the  celebration 
just  referred  to.  They  are  fitting  because  they  tell  well  the 
simple  truth  in  the  heading  of  this  chapter  designating  Pres- 
ident Seelye  as  the  builder  of  Smith  College. 

Dr.  Greene  said : 

"In  my  judgment  President  Seelye's  success  in  college 
building  has  been  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  American 
colleges.  I  do  not  know  of  any  other  instance  where  a 
president,  either  a  man  or  woman,  has  started  a  college  with 
so  small  a  fund  as  he  had  and  made  it  yield  such  large  results. 
In  the  number  of  students  enrolled  in  the  college,  in  the 
force  of  teachers  employed,  in  the  number  of  graduates  of 
the  course  of  study,  in  the  amount  of  productive  funds 
amassed,  and  in  the  number  of  college  buildings  erected,  the 
progress  of  Smith  College  has  been  phenomenal.  He  has 
had  high  standards  of  scholarship  and  exacting  ideals  of 
womanhood,  which  he  has  steadily  kept  before  the  minds  of 
the  students  and  urged  upon  them  to  adopt  and  realize  in 
themselves.  Whenever,  in  the  college  life,  emergencies  have 
come,  he  has  by  wisdom,  coolness,  and  courage,  shown  him- 
self able  to  meet  them.  There  has  been  no  standstill  nor 
retrograde  in  the  growth  or  prosperity  of  the  college.  It  has 
continually  gone  on,  and  always  upward. 

"President  Seelye  might  go  into  almost  any  part  of  the 
college  section  of  Northampton,  and  erect  a  slab  on  which 
were  graven  the  words  which  Sir  Christopher  Wren  put  over 
one  of  the  doors  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  in  London:  'Si 
monumentum  requiris  circumspice.'  " 


The  Williston  Family 


The  Williston  Coat  of  Arms 


75 


THE  WILLISTON  FAMILY 

And  Their  Record  as  Builders  in  the  Educational  World 

THE  name  of  Williston  is  synonymous  with  the  cause 
of  college  and  seminary  education  in  this  part  of  the 
Connecticut  Valley,  and  a  sketch  of  the  family  would 
not  be  complete  without  some  account  of  the  life  work  of  the 
three  members  of  the  family  who  were  most  prominent  in  the 
patronage  and  encouragement  of  education  in  the  youth  of 
the  country.  These  were  Samuel,  John  P.,  and  A.  Lyman 
Williston. 

The  American  progenitor  of  the  family  was  Rev.  Noah 
Williston,  who  resided  in  West  Haven,  Connecticut,  in  the 
early  days  of  the  colonies.  He  had  four  children — two  sons, 
both  of  whom  were  ministers,  and  two  daughters,  both  of 
whom  were  minister's  wives.  One  of  the  sons  was  Rev. 
Payson  Williston,  who  had  three  sons,  Samuel,  John  P.,  and 
Noah  B.  The  first  two  were  destined  to  make  a  shining 
mark  in  the  religious  and  educational  world;  and  the  last 
became  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen  of  Brattleboro, 
Vermont. 

Samuel  Williston,  the  most  distinguished  of  the  brothers, 
was  born  in  Easthampton,  June  17,  1795,  and  died  in  that 
town  in  July,  1874.  His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  a 
Connecticut  clergyman,  Rev.  Nathan  Birdseye  of  Stratford. 
The  story  of  Samuel  Williston's  life  reads  like  an  industrial 
romance,  in  the  change  from  boyhood  poverty  to  the  posses- 
sion of  wealth  in  elderly  manhood.  He  was  a  lad  of  high 
scholastic  ambition,  but  trouble  with  his  eyes  prevented  the 

77 


78  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

entire  fulfilment  of  his  desires  for  a  liberal  college  education, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  a  term  at  Andover 
Seminary  and  a  long  course  of  reading  and  night  study. 
After  a  brief  trial  of  mercantile  life,  which  he  did  not  like, 
in  the  store  of  Arthur  Tappan  of  New  York,  he  engaged  in 
farming.  As  a  farmer  he  showed  himself  so  industrious  and 
capable  that  his  father  finally  set  him  up  in  the  sheep  indus- 
try, with  an  investment  of  nearly  two  thousand  dollars.  It 
was  while  engaged  in  this  venture  that  he  married,  in  1822, 
the  daughter  of  Elnathan  Graves  of  Williamsburg.  In 
order  to  piece  out  his  income  he  taught  school,  which  he  did 
to  public  satisfaction,  as  many  of  his  pupils  and  their  parents 
have  testified.  Unfortunately  he  lost  nearly  all  his  sheep 
profits  by  the  failure  of  the  purchaser  of  his  product.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Williston  were  somewhat  discouraged  with  the 
failure  of  their  farming  operations,  but  a  way  was  soon 
opened  to  them  for  success  in  a  manufacturing  field  that  they 
little  dreamed  of.  Mrs.  Williston  had  made  cloth  buttons 
for  several  local  parties  with  general  acceptation,  and  to  test 
their  value  she  sent  a  small  package  of  them  to  Arthur  Tap- 
pan,  the  well-known  New  York  merchant.  Mr.  Tappan  was 
so  pleased  with  the  buttons  that  he  ordered  twenty-five  gross, 
at  two  dollars  a  gross.  This  started  the  business  of  button 
manufacturing  in  Easthampton.  Mrs.  Williston  first  em- 
ployed women  to  come  and  work  in  her  own  home.  Then 
she  gave  out  the  work  to  families  to  do  in  their  homes.  In 
1836  Mr.  Williston  began  to  travel  about  the  country  taking 
orders  in  all  the  large  cities,  and  there  were  soon  over  one 
thousand  families  at  work  on  the  product  in  Easthampton, 
Northampton,  and  other  towns  in  the  vicinity.  On  one  of 
his  trips  to  New  York  he  saw  some  buttons  of  English  make 
which  greatly  interested  him,  and  he  began  the  manufacture 
of  these  with  the  assistance  of  an  English  journeyman  worker. 


The  Williston  Family  79 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  success  of  Haydenville  as  a 
manufacturing  place,  and  Easthampton  was  also  much 
helped  thereby.  Mr.  Williston  was  later  partner  with 
Lieutenant  Governor  Horatio  G.  Knight  in  the  manufacture 
of  suspenders  in  Easthampton. 

Mr.  Williston  came  of  a  long-lived  family.  His  father 
attained  the  age  of  ninety-three,  his  father's  father  lived  to 
be  seventy-seven,  his  mother  eighty-two,  and  her  father  one 
hundred  and  three.  He  had  two  sisters.  One  was  the  wife 
of  Josiah  D.  Whitney  of  Northampton,  and  mother  of  the 
celebrated  professor  of  that  name.  The  other  was  the  mother 
of  the  late  Mrs.  Dr.  Adams  of  Boston. 

In  their  domestic  life  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williston  were 
much  afflicted,  in  that  their  five  children  all  died  in  early 
childhood  of  that  terrible  scourge,  scarlet  fever,  but  they 
afterward  reared  five  adopted  sons  and  daughters,  among 
whom  were  Professor  Lyman  R.  Williston,  who  became 
principal  of  the  Cambridge  high  school;  the  wife  of  President 
Clark  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College;  the  wife  of 
M.  F.  Dickinson,  Jr.,  of  Boston;  and  the  wife  of  Rev.  Joseph 
Lanman  of  Lynn. 

Mr.  Williston's  greatest  material  monument  was  the 
Williston  Seminary  for  young  men,  which  was  established 
with  a  handsome  endowment  for  that  time.  The  institution 
has  always  been  of  the  highest  character  and  so  carefully  has 
it  been  managed  that  parents  who  would  have  many  com- 
punctions about  sending  their  sons  to  some  of  the  older  and 
more  advanced  colleges  feel  perfectly  safe  in  sending  them  to 
Williston  Seminary  for  an  education.  Mr.  Williston's  will 
provided  for  the  seminary  in  such  a  manner  that  its  success 
today  is  as  great  as  ever. 

Samuel  Williston  was  a  dominant  church  pillar  in  the 
Congregational  house  of  faith  in  the  Connecticut  Valley.     In 


80  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

1837  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  organizing  the  First  Church 
of  Easthampton.  He  founded  the  professorship  of  oratory 
and  rhetoric  at  Amherst  College  in  1845.  Then  he  traveled 
in  Europe  for  six  months.  In  1846  he  founded  the  professor- 
ship in  Greek,  and  one-half  of  the  professorship  of  natural 
theology  at  Amherst,  giving  fifty  thousand  dollars  therefor. 
He  was  a  member  of  both  houses  of  Legislature,  to  which  he 
was  elected  as  an  anti-slavery  Whig,  and  he  was  chosen  by 
that  body  a  trustee  of  Amherst  College,  a  position  which  he 
held  for  thirty-three  years.  For  the  same  number  of  years 
he  was  trustee  and  treasurer  of  Williston  Seminary.  Pro- 
fessor Tyler  has  said  that  "he  came  to  the  relief  and  rescue 
of  Amherst  College  when  it  was  in  such  imminent  peril  that 
its  friends  and  officials  threatened  to  desert  it.  He  well 
deserves  the  highest  rank  among  its  benefactors,  and  title, 
by  common  consent,  of  its  preserver  and  second  founder." 
He  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  State  Reform  School  of  Westboro,  and  he 
gave  his  services  in  overseeing  the  erection  of  the  buildings. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  Mount  Holyoke  Sem- 
inary, and  a  corporate  member  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  The 
banks,  business  corporations,  manufacturing,  water,  gas,  and 
power  companies  in  Holyoke,  Northampton,  and  East- 
hampton, of  which  he  was  an  influential  corporator,  were  too 
numerous  to  mention.  In  1854  he  was  a  leading  factor  in 
the  building  of  the  Hampshire  and  Hampden  railroad,  con- 
necting Northampton,  at  Granby,  Connecticut,  with  the 
railroad  from  that  place  to  New  Haven.  His  name  had 
great  value  to  all  of  these  organizations  because  his  integ- 
rity and  high  business  endowments  inspired  confidence. 

When  Samuel  Williston  died  his  charities  had  exceeded 
one  million  dollars,  and  his  will  provided  for  the  distribution 
of  three  quarters  of  a  million  more. 


The  Williston  Family  81 


Samuel  Williston's  life,  in  its  wonderful  fruitage  and 
success,  in  its  full  exemplification  of  the  gospel  of  man's 
stewardship  on  earth,  according  to  Holy  Writ,  was  rarely 
blessed  —  living  as  he  did,  to  see  something  of  its  results. 
So  was  his  death  mitigated  and  softened  by  the  same  influ- 
ences. Surrounded  by  relatives  and  friends,  and  lovingly 
ministered  to  by  a  whole  town,  which  looked  up  to  and 
honored  him,  his  end  was  truly  that  of  the  righteous  man. 
No  person,  perhaps,  in  all  western  Massachusetts  could  have 
been  more  missed  at  that  time  than  he.  Certainly  no  one 
man  in  this  region,  in  his  generation,  had  achieved  so  much 
in  business  and  educational  service,  and  had,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  exerted  so  wide  and  beneficent  an  influence. 

John  Payson  Williston,  the  younger  brother  of  Samuel 
Williston,  was  another  notable  member  of  this  family.  He 
was  born  in  Easthampton  and  lived  to  the  age  of  sixty-eight 
years.  He  married  Cecilia  Lyman  of  Northampton.  Their 
sons  were  A.  Lyman,  John  P.,  and  an  adopted  son,  Martin 
L.,  who  became  a  minister  at  Stamford,  Connecticut.  John 
Payson  Williston,  like  his  brother  Samuel,  was  disappointed 
in  his  ambition  for  a  college  education.  Poor  health  and 
faulty  eyesight  handicapped  him,  and  he  had  only  a  common 
school  education  in  the  Northampton  schools.  Then  he 
entered  the  drug  store  of  Dr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  one  of  the 
famous  earlier  physicians  of  the  town.  While  employed  here 
he  became  much  interested  in  the  study  of  chemistry,  with 
the  result  that  he  invented  the  formula  for  his  well-known 
Payson's  Indelible  Ink.  Later  he  was  in  business  himself 
with  Isaac  Clark  about  where  the  Draper  Hotel  now  stands. 
In  1835  he  began  the  manufacture  of  indelible  ink,  for  the 
marking  of  clothing.  The  industry  developed  so  that  he  was 
presently  the  largest  manufacturer  in  the  country  of  this 
line  of  goods,  and  the  business  is  still  continued  by  his  heirs. 


82  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

In  1846  he  became  a  part  owner  of  the  cotton  mill  at  Florence 
operated  under  the  name  of  the  Greenville  Manufacturing 
Company.  He  was  a  director  of  the  Northampton  Bank 
and  the  Holyoke  Water  Power  Company.  For  one  year  he 
was  a  selectman  of  the  town,  but  aside  from  this  he  never 
took  or  sought  public  office.  He  had  no  taste  for  the  in- 
triguing and  wire-pulling  which  he  knew  were  generally  more 
or  less  necessary  to  obtain  office.  Mr.  Williston's  energies, 
outside  of  his  business,  seem  to  have  made  him  of  as  much 
if  not  more  use  than  if  he  had  held  high  offices,  for  he  es- 
poused energetically  the  cause  of  the  fugitive  slave,  and  la- 
bored unceasingly  for  the  abolition  of  the  liquor  traffic. 
When  an  attempt  was  made  to  stop  liquor-selling  by  legisla- 
tive enactment,  he  engaged  in  the  effort  to  enforce  the  liquor 
law  with  all  his  might.  During  this  protracted  struggle, 
which  was  more  than  local  in  its  effects,  for  it  attracted  the 
attention  of  people  over  a  wide  extent  of  the  country,  his 
barn  was  twice  destroyed  by  incendiary  fires,  and  his  house 
also  was  set  on  fire  and  partially  consumed. 

He  became  the  devoted  friend  of  the  colored  people 
when  the  abolition  movement,  then  in  its  infancy,  was  un- 
popular and  even  obnoxious  to  the  majority  of  the  New 
England  public.  Regardless  of  fear  or  favor,  he  pushed  the 
cause  forward,  demanding  that  slavery  should  be  discussed 
in  our  halls  and  pulpits;  and  the  fleeing  fugitive  slaves,  who 
came  his  way,  on  the  route  to  Canada,  found  him  ever  ready 
to  help  them.  His  roof  sheltered,  his  table  fed,  his  sym- 
pathy cheered,  and  his  purse  assisted  the  fugitive  bondmen. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Hampshire  Herald,  the 
first  anti-slavery  paper  published  in  western  Massachusetts, 
and  he  gave  much  money  to  anti-slavery  organizations. 

But  John  P.  Williston  was  best  known  to  the  com- 
munity for  his  large  though  unostentatious  general  charities. 


The  Williston  Family  83 

These  were  remarkable  considering  his  comparatively  limited 
means,  for  he  was  never  a  millionaire.  He  might  have 
been,  but  he  gave  his  earnings  in  charity  about  as  fast  as 
they  came  to  him.  This  undoubtedly  was  because  of  his 
extreme  conscientiousness  as  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ.  In 
his  early  years  he  espoused  the  Christian  religion  as  taught 
in  the  Congregational  Church,  and  his  long  life  was  conspicu- 
ous for  his  faithful  following  of  the  teachings  of  his  Master. 
Benevolence,  therefore,  he  came  to  regard  as  one  of  the 
fundamental  Christian  principles,  and  he  practiced  it  with 
rare  fidelity.  Soon  after  he  entered  on  his  business  life  he 
resolved  to  appropriate  whatever  he  should  make  each  year 
in  excess  of  five  hundred  dollars,  during  a  period  of  ten  years, 
for  benevolent  objects.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  resolved 
to  give  thereafter  to  charitable  objects  one-tenth  of  his  in- 
come, whatever  that  might  be.  This  resolution  he  more 
than  fulfilled,  and  during  his  later  years  he  gave  away  his 
entire  income.  He  gave  secretly,  to  the  widow  and  orphan, 
the  lonely  and  forsaken  ones,  in  many  cases,  as  the  writer 
well  knows  personally.  He  gave  to  many  young  men,  that 
they  might  obtain  an  education  or  start  in  business.  He 
espoused  the  cause  of  a  poor  colored  boy  and  educated  him 
at  his  own  expense,  until  he  graduated  at  Oberlin  College. 
He  gave  to  the  town  nearly  enough  money  to  build  the  brick 
schoolhouse  in  Center  Street.  He  also  gave  several  thousand 
dollars  toward  the  erection  of  the  large  three-story  brick 
edifice  which  accommodated  for  many  years  the  high,  gram- 
mar, and  intermediate  schools.  He  gave  six  hundred  dollars 
yearly  to  an  Amherst  College  professor,  to  be  expended  by 
him  among  such  worthy  students  as  needed  aid.  He  helped 
several  colleges,  and  one  or  two  would  have  been  closed  but 
for  his  assistance.  He  was  the  trusted  friend  and  adviser  of 
Mary  Lyon,  and  gave  her  financial  aid  in  establishing  Mount 


84  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Holyoke  Seminary.  In  short,  there  was  hardly  a  good  cause 
that  did  not  have  his  support. 

In  1838  he  was  chosen  deacon  of  the  "Old"  church  and 
continued  to  hold  that  office  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  was  a 
tower  of  strength  in  both  church  and  Sunday  school,  and  his 
benign  and  gracious  presence  was  everywhere  felt.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  he  was  the  saint  of  the  congregation  in 
his  time,  and  when  he  left  this  life  the  whole  community  felt 
that  no  one  could  replace  him. 

What  a  legacy  these  two  men  of  the  name  of  Williston 
left  in  their  day  and  generation!  and  is  it  to  be  wondered  at 
that  those  of  their  name  who  came  after  them  were  imbued 
with  the  same  spirit  of  charity  and  self-sacrifice? 

A.  LYMAN  WILLISTON 

Builder  of  The  Northampton  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
and  Patron  of  Education 

With  the  inspiration  of  such  a  father  as  John  Payson 
Williston  and  other  similar  family  relatives,  much  could 
be  anticipated  of  A.  Lyman  Williston,  who  was  born  in 
his  father's  house,  just  north  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building 
on  King  Street,  December  13,  1834.  After  passing  through 
the  Northampton  schools  he  attended  Williston  Seminary 
at  Easthampton  for  three  years.  He  received  the  degree 
of  M.A.  from  Amherst  College  in  1881,  and  was  honored 
by  Mount  Holyoke  College  with  a  degree  of  Ph.D.  in  1914. 

After  his  graduation  from  Williston  Seminary  in  1852  he 
entered  the  office  of  the  Greenville  Manufacturing  Company, 
at  Florence.  This  company  was  a  cotton  manufacturing 
concern  which  had  been  established  by  his  father.  In  due 
time  he  became  its  manager,  treasurer,  and  president,  and 
he  lived  in  Florence  for  thirty  years.  He  was  also  president 
of  the  Mill  River  Button  Company  for  a  number  of  years, 


A.  Lyman  Williston 


85 


The  Williston  Family  87 


and  treasurer  of  the  Williston- Arms  Narrow  Fabrics  Company. 
While  dwelling  in  Florence,  Mr.  Williston  and  others  founded 
the  Florence  Savings  Bank. 

Mr.  Williston's  early  business  life  was  closely  identified 
with  the  development  of  Florence,  and  he  did  much  to  make 
that  village  a  prominent  and  influential  part  of  Northamp- 
ton. Here  he  brought  his  wife  in  1861.  She  was  Sarah 
Tappan  Stoddard,  daughter  of  Professor  Solomon  Stoddard, 
of  Middlebury  College,  Vermont.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williston 
were  among  the  little  more  than  a  score  of  members  who  or- 
ganized the  Florence  Congregational  Church.  In  1882  the 
cotton  business  was  discontinued  in  Florence,  and  Mr.  Willis- 
ton removed  with  his  family  to  Round  Hill,  where  he  built 
a  home  on  a  part  of  the  ancestral  acres  of  his  wife.  Mr. 
Williston  continued  to  give  his  attention  to  the  manufacture 
of  the  indelible  ink  started  by  his  father. 

In  1877  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank,  and  was  chosen  its  president  in  1887,  which  office  he 
held  as  long  as  he  lived.  While  in  no  sense  a  politician  or 
political  partisan,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  was  put  forward  by  that  organization  for  various  local 
offices.  Almost  invariably  he  was  handsomely  indorsed  by 
the  voters  of  other  parties.  He  was  thus  led  to  serve  the  city 
as  School  Committeeman,  Alderman,  member  of  the  Board 
of  Sewer  Commissioners  six  years,  member  of  the  Public 
Library  Committee,  and  as  chairman  of  the  City  Trust 
Funds'  Committee.  Further  than  this  he  would  not  go,  and 
resolutely  refused  to  accept  state  office  of  any  kind. 

Aside  from  his  business  success,  Mr.  Williston  was  par- 
ticularly prominent  for  his  interest  in  education.  He  was 
trustee  of  Williston  Seminary  all  his  life  after  1873,  and  was 
president  of  the  board  from  1885  to  1895,  and  treasurer  after 
1880.     He  became  a  trustee  of  Smith  College  in  1876,  and  a 


88  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


member  of  the  finance  committee.  But  most  of  all  he  was 
interested  in  Mount  Holyoke  College.  For  more  than  forty 
years  he  was  treasurer  of  that  institution,  and  Williston  Hall, 
at  South  Hadley,  completed  in  1876,  was  largely  his  gift. 
The  John  Payson  Williston  Observatory  at  the  same  college 
was  presented  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williston,  as  a  memorial  of 
their  oldest  son.  Williston  Hall  was  established  for  the 
demonstration  of  all  the  sciences  except  physics  and  chem- 
istry, and  an  addition  was  encouraged  by  Mr.  Williston  in 
1889  to  better  fit  it  for  the  study  of  zoology  and  botany. 
He  was  chosen  a  trustee  of  the  college  in  1867,  and  treasurer 
in  1873,  and  he  held  these  offices  while  he  lived.  The  name 
of  Williston  has  been  connected  with  Mount  Holyoke  College 
since  1836,  when  Samuel  Williston,  the  uncle  of  A.  Lyman, 
was  elected  a  trustee  a  year  before  the  opening  of  the  school. 
Mr.  Williston's  father,  Deacon  John  P.,  was  also  identified 
with  the  success  of  the  institution,  as  elsewhere  mentioned. 
The  oldest  building  now  standing  on  the  campus,  and  the 
first  to  be  erected  after  the  main  building,  bears  the  name  of 
Williston. 

Mr.  A.  L.  Williston's  devotion  to  the  interests  of  this 
college  can  probably  be  best  understood  from  the  following 
tribute  paid  at  the  time  of  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  his 
election  as  treasurer  in  1913. 

"The  two  buildings  represent  only  a  small  part  of  Mr. 
Williston's  work  for  Mount  Holyoke  during  these  forty  years. 
His  time,  his  business  talent,  his  energy,  have  been  given 
without  stint.  At  one  time  Mr.  Williston  even  placed  his 
own  business  in  the  hands  of  others  that  he  might  the  better 
superintend  the  work  on  Williston  Hall.  The  period  between 
1873  and  1877  and  the  period  immediately  following  the  fire 
were  crises  which  tried  methods,  as  well  as  men  and  women. 
The  college  gratefully  recognizes  Mr.  Williston's  steady  sup- 


The  Williston  Family  89 

port  through  these  years.  It  owes  much  to  his  foresight,  his 
sound  judgment,  his  wise  caution,  and  his  ability  to  realize 
and  to  help  solve  the  problems  incident  to  great  changes  in 
the  evolution  of  Mount  Holyoke  College." 

Following  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  old  buildings  of 
the  college  in  1896,  Mr.  Williston  was  undoubtedly  the  finan- 
cial saviour  of  the  institution.  It  looked  dark  for  a  time. 
There  were  friends  of  the  institution  who  were  doubtful  of  the 
possibility  of  raising  sufficient  funds  to  place  it  on  its  feet  as 
formerly,  even,  and  it  was  generally  conceded  that  some- 
thing much  better  must  be  done,  if  anything  at  all.  But  Mr. 
Williston  proved  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  another  phoenix 
rose  from  its  ashes. 

It  was  the  careful,  not  the  lavish  spending  of  money  that 
was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Williston  in  his  relations  to  the 
college.  How  so  much  could  have  been  done  with  so  little, 
comparatively,  amazes  every  understanding  visitor.  The 
real  secret  is  probably  to  be  found  in  Mr.  Williston's  gift  of 
time  and  thought  to  college  problems.  In  that  giving  both  he 
and  Mrs.  Williston  were  most  generous.  For  months  after  the 
fire,  when  the  work  of  rebuilding  was  going  on,  there  was 
not  a  week  day  when  some  one  of  the  family  did  not  go  over 
to  the  college  to  supervise  the  building,  which,  with  careful 
consideration  of  every  detail  of  the  plans,  saved  the  college 
many  thousands  of  dollars. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  state  to  what  extent  Mr.  Wil- 
liston contributed  to  the  aid  of  various  good  causes,  besides 
those  strictly  educational,  already  mentioned,  but  he  may 
safely  be  called  the  builder  or  reconstructor  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  in  Northampton,  for  it  had 
practically  no  existence  when  he  took  it  under  his  wing,  so 
to  speak.  Those  who  remember  the  old  Y.  M.  C.  A.  back  in 
the  '60's,  will  realize  what  a  transformation  has  been  accom- 


90  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


plished  in  this  line  of  Christian  work.  As  is  well  known,  this 
has  been  done  largely  through  efficient  business  manage- 
ment, which  has  extended  to  the  branches  of  the  association 
all  over  the  country.  When  it  was  announced  that  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  was  to  be  energized  and  equipped  nationally  in 
a  business-like  manner,  this  appealed  to  Mr.  Williston's 
business  sagacity,  and  he  took  hold  at  once  of  the  work  of 
rehabilitating  the  organization  locally.  The  devotional  fea- 
tures, which  comprehended  about  all  there  was  of  the  old 
association,  were  supplemented  by  the  homelike  and  hy- 
gienic attractions  that  have  made  the  organization's  work  so 
valuable  and  useful.  Mr.  Williston  contributed  the  land, 
which  was  part  of  the  lot  on  which  his  father's  house  stood, 
and  ten  thousand  dollars  toward  the  present  building,  and 
he  substantially  aided  the  development  of  the  enterprise  at 
other  times,  notably  when  the  building  was  enlarged  and  the 
swimming  pool  was  installed  a  few  years  ago. 

There  were  many  other  ways  in  which  Mr.  Williston 
gave  of  his  means  to  worthy  objects.  He  was  of  course  con- 
stantly importuned  for  subscriptions  to  this  and  that  charity, 
but  his  shrewd,  business-like  nature  demanded  to  be  " shown," 
if  he  had  any  doubt  about  or  was  ignorant  of  the  nature  of 
the  object  for  which  bounty  was  sought.  The  writer  has  in 
mind  at  least  one  such  case.  When  the  Knights  of  Labor, 
an  ephemeral  organization  of  thirty  years  ago,  was  in  exist- 
ence, the  members  appointed  a  committee  to  solicit  subscrip- 
tions to  purchase  a  piano  for  the  use  of  the  order  at  their 
meetings.  Citizens  generally  gave  generously,  and  Mr.  Wil- 
liston, when  approached,  showed  no  disposition  to  evade 
giving,  and  finally  handed  the  committee  ten  dollars,  but 
asked  for  a  written  guarantee  that,  if  the  association  dis- 
banded, the  piano  should  be  transferred  to  the  Old  Ladies' 
Home.    This  was  agreed  to,  but  it  is  far  from  being  to  the 


The  Williston  Family  91 


credit  of  the  officers  of  the  organization,  that,  when  the 
society  dissolved,  as  it  did,  in  a  short  time,  the  promise  to 
Mr.  Williston  was  forgotten,  and  the  piano  was  carried  to  the 
home  of  one  of  the  members. 

It  is  known  that  Mr.  Williston  took  great  pleasure  in 
aiding  privately  needy  friends  of  his  early  life.  Beneath  a 
quiet,  self-contained  manner,  he  hid  a  very  warm  heart, 
genuine  human  kindliness,  and  great  generosity.  The  head 
of  a  charitable  institution  in  this  neighborhood  says  that 
after  an  epidemic  which  made  it  necessary  to  refit  the  build- 
ings at  an  expense  that  the  school  could  hardly  afford,  he 
received  a  check  from  Mr.  Williston  with  a  kind  note  saying 
that  he  had  seen  in  the  papers  the  account  of  the  epidemic, 
and,  realizing  that  there  would  be  expense  in  refitting  the 
house,  sent  something  to  help  along.  He  seemed  especially 
to  enjoy  giving  in  that  quiet,  unexpected  way. 

He  gave  largely  of  his  services  and  counsel  to  the  three 
educational  institutions  on  whose  boards  of  trustees  he 
served,  and  his  interest  and  work  on  behalf  of  the  cause  of 
religion  were  shown,  after  his  removal  from  Florence,  by  his 
holding  the  office  of  deacon  in  the  Northampton  First  Church 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  his  membership  on  various 
committees  of  the  church. 

When  the  physical  end  came,  Mr.  Williston  was  a  well- 
preserved  man  for  an  octogenarian.  He  had  been  ill  a 
few  days  with  a  cold,  which  was  not  considered  serious,  but 
it  developed  into  bronchitis  and  affected  the  heart,  so 
that  the  end  came  suddenly.  His  death  on  April  1,  1915, 
was  a  great  loss  to  a  community  which  had  learned  to  value 
him  for  his  integrity,  generosity,  and  public  spirit,  and  it 
was  no  less  a  loss  to  the  colleges  and  other  institutions  which 
had  profited  richly  by  his  counsel  so  many  years.  The 
tributes  paid  by  these  corporations  to  his  memory  are  a  valu- 


92  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

able  legacy  to  his  family,  and  the  public  esteem  which  was 
shown  for  him  at  the  largely  attended  funeral  must  have 
been  very  grateful  to  them. 

Mrs.  Williston,  who  was  a  woman  of  exceeding  loveliness 
of  Christian  character,  was  in  full  sympathy  with  her  husband 
in  his  interest  in  causes  of  religion,  education,  and  charity. 
For  thirty  years  she  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  Mount  Holyoke  College,  and  served  constantly  on  the 
Committee  on  Teachers  and  other  important  committees. 
She  was  a  strong  and  steadfast  supporter  of  Mrs.  Gulick  in 
founding  and  maintaining  the  International  Institute  for 
girls  in  Spain,  and  was  one  of  its  most  valued  directors.  She 
was  also  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Lathrop  Home  for  Aged 
and  Invalid  Women  in  Northampton,  and  its  able  president 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.     She  died  in  1912. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williston  left  two  sons  and  two  daughters: 
Robert  L.  of  Northampton,  who  graduated  at  Amherst  Col- 
lege in  1892,  and  trod  by  natural  inheritance  in  his  fath- 
er's footsteps  by  becoming  assistant  treasurer  and  trustee 
of  Mount  Holyoke  College,  and  treasurer  and  trustee  of 
Williston  Seminary,  and  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank;  Henry  Stoddard  Williston  of  Lynn,  owner  of  the 
Massachusetts  Electric  Manufacturing  Company;  Lucy, 
wife  of  Charles  M.  Starkweather  of  Hartford,  Connecticut;  and 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Judge  Herbert  S.  Bullard,  also  of  Hartford. 


The  Shepherd  Family 


The  Shepherd  Coat  of  Arms 


93 


THE  SHEPHERD  FAMILY 

Some  Notes  from  a  Wealth  of  Material  Concerning  the  Family's 

Past  and  Present 


THE  annals  of  the  Shepherd  family  through  its 
Pomeroy  line  have  been  traced  to  that  period  dear 
to  all  genealogical  hunters,  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  It  is  rare  indeed  that  reliable  English  records 
date  back  to  that  distant  day.  Sir  Ralph  de  la  Pomeraie, 
chief  of  staff  of  the  doughty  Norman  ruler,  by  whom  he 
was  granted  a  coat  of  arms,  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Pomeroy 
family  of  which  General  Seth  Pomeroy  of  Northampton  was 
a  distinguished  member. 

General  Pomeroy,  a  famous  soldier  of  the  colonial  wars, 
and  one  of  the  heroes  of  Bunker  Hill,  fought  in  the  Revolution 
against  the  tyrannical  rule  of  Great  Britain.  He  died  nobly  in 
the  service  of  his  country  at  Peekskill  in  1777  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one.    His  daughter  Mary  married  Dr.  Levi  Shepherd. 

The  American  records  of  the  Pomeroy  family  begin  with 
Eltweed,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Beaminster, 
County  Dorset,  England,  in  the  year  1630.  He  was  one  of 
the  original  settlers  of  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  and  his 
name  has  a  place  on  the  honor  roll  of  the  time  as  president 
of  the  first  town  meeting  held  in  the  colonies,  or,  as  the 
office  was  also  designated,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Gov- 
ernors. He  spent  his  last  years  in  Northampton,  and  died 
at  the  home  of  his  son,  Medad,  who  was  the  first  of  the 
family  to  settle  here. 

95 


96  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


Other  forbears  of  the  Shepherds  in  the  Pomeroy  line 
were:  John  Webster,  fifth  governor  of  the  Connecticut 
colony,  and  Jonathan  Hunt  and  John  King.  The  last  two 
were  from  Northampton,  England.  They  early  came  to 
"Nonotuck,"  which  was  soon  renamed  at  their  suggestion, 
it  is  said,  for  their  old  home  across  the  Atlantic. 

Edward  Shepherd,  ancestor  of  the  Northampton  Shep- 
herds, came  to  America  in  1639  with  his  wife,  Violet  Stanley. 
He  was  made  a  freeman  in  1643,  and  became  a  member  of 
the  Thomas  Shepherd  Church  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 
His  wife  Violet  died  soon  afterward.  He  later  married  Mary 
Pond.  In  1666  we  find  that  his  son,  known  as  "Sergeant" 
John  Shepherd,  had  removed  to  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
where  he  died  July  12,  1777.  In  the  next  generation  Deacon 
John  Shepherd  was  of  the  South  Church  at  Hartford.  He 
married  Hannah  Peck.  Their  son  Samuel,  born  February 
2,  1684,  married,  May  17,  1709,  Bethiah  Steele,  a  descendant 
in  the  third  generation  of  William  Bradford  of  Mayflower 
fame,  and  governor  of  Plymouth  Colony  thirty-one  years. 

James,  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Bethiah  (Steele)  Shepherd, 
and  their  grandson,  Dr.  Levi  Shepherd,  removed  from  Hart- 
ford to  Northampton  about  1764.  The  latter  became  a  prom- 
inent and  useful  citizen  of  a  wide-reaching  community,  of 
which  Northampton  was  the  center.  He  was  a  successful 
merchant,  and  first  established  himself  near  the  corner  of 
Main  and  King  streets.  Afterward,  with  Ebenezer  Hunt, 
he  did  a  large  drug  and  general  business  where  Kingsley's 
drug  store  is  now  located.  In  his  later  years  he  lived  in  the 
interesting  old  house  which  some  years  ago  made  way  for 
the  structure  at  the  corner  of  Pleasant  Street  and  Hampton 
Avenue.  Farther  north  was  his  general  store.  The  land  in 
the  rear  which  extended  to  Old  South  Street,  was  occupied 
by  the  buildings  and  "rope  walk"  required  in  the  manufac- 


Residence  of  Thomas  Munroe  Shepherd 

06  Bridge  Street  as  decorated  for  the  Quarter  Millennial  Celebration  with  banner  .stating  that  the  house 
was  built  in  1792  by  a  son  of  General  Seth  Pomeroy 


97 


The  Shepherd  Family  99 

ture  of  duck,  of  which  Dr.  Shepherd  made  large  quantities 
for  the  United  States  government.  He  was  one  of  the 
wealthiest  men  in  the  county,  and  among  those  most  public- 
spirited,  as  well. 

In  1771  Levi  Shepherd,  as  previously  mentioned  in  this 
sketch,  married  Mary,  a  daughter  of  the  famous  General 
Seth  Pomeroy.  Their  son  Thomas,  who  was  born  in  1778 
and  died  in  1846,  was  also  a  merchant  and  a  large  land  owner. 
He  was  postmaster  from  1830  to  1841  and  again  from  1845 
to  1846.  He  married  Catherine,  a  daughter  of  Judge  John 
Tryon,  of  Lebanon  Springs,  New  York,  a  descendant  of 
William  Tryon,  one  of  the  founders  of  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut. Her  mother  belonged  to  the  distinguished  Lay 
family  of  Lyme,  Connecticut.  Thomas  Shepherd,  like  his 
father,  Dr.  Levi,  was  eminently  public-spirited  and  enter- 
prising. These  qualities,  and  more,  he  transmitted  to  his 
son,  Henry. 

HENRY  SHEPHERD 

Henry  Shepherd  is  well  remembered  by  many  of  the 
older  residents  of  Northampton  as  a  remarkable  man  in 
many  ways,  and  as  a  true  representative  of  the  best  American 
family  life  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  was  noted  for  his 
cheerfulness,  unselfishness  and  loyalty  to  family,  for  his 
honesty  and  his  firmness  in  exemplifying  the  highest  moral 
and  religious  principles  in  life  and  conduct,  and  moreover  as 
possessing  a  nature  of  rare  poetic  sentiment. 

After  a  common  school  education,  something  which 
meant  more  in  those  days  than  it  does  now,  he  attended  the 
famous  Bancroft  and  Coggswell  school  on  Round  Hill,  and 
then  began  the  work  of  life  in  his  father's  store.  He  was 
offered  an  opportunity  to  become  a  New  York  merchant, 
but  having  weighed  the  pecuniary  advantages  against  the 


100  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

more  independent  occupation  of  agriculture,  and  having  a 
natural  dislike  for  the  hustle  and  bustle  of  a  city,  he  elected 
the  country  life  and  began  farming,  then  the  prevailing  in- 
dustry of  this  valley.  Starting  in  the  "60's,"  he  was  for  a 
long  time,  superintendent  of  construction  of  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company. 

Not  content  with  the  education  gained  in  school,  he 
broadened  it  by  means  of  wide  reading  and  the  close  ob- 
servation of  a  long  life.  In  his  day  there  were  few  clubs  or 
fraternal  organizations,  but  his  membership  in  the  Unitarian 
Church  opened  an  opportunity  to  meet  his  fellow  men  in 
religious  and  friendly  association. 

In  politics  he  was  one  of  the  old  time  Democrats,  as 
opposed  to  the  Whigs.  But  he  changed  his  political  affilia- 
tion on  the  issue  of  slavery,  and  became  a  Republican  when 
that  party  was  formed.  Later  the  evils  of  intemperance,  ob- 
noxious to  one  of  his  pure  character  and  high  ideals,  allied  him 
in  active  work  with  the  Prohibition  party.  Within  the 
twelve  months  previous  to  his  death,  when  eighty-nine  years 
of  age,  he  attended  as  a  delegate  the  National  Convention 
of  the  party  held  in  Chicago.  His  ideas  on  the  liquor  ques- 
tion were  frequently  expressed  in  the  local  papers  with  a 
virility  and  pungency  which  were  as  delightful  to  his  friends 
as  they  were  annoying  and  unanswerable  to  those  who 
opposed  him. 

During  many  of  the  later  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Shepherd 
contributed  to  the  Northampton  and  Springfield  news- 
papers articles  of  great  interest  to  people  in  this  vicinity. 
They  were  principally  reminiscent,  but  often  touched  on 
matters  of  a  local  character,  and  they  showed  rare  judg- 
ment and  an  enterprise  that  stamped  him  as  a  man  of  wise 
progressive  mind,  most  unusual  in  one  of  his  age  and  limited 
opportunities. 


Henry  Shepherd 

1811-1900 


101 


Henry  Shepherd 


in  his  eighty-ninth  year,  riding  "Mr.  Fox"  at  the  Three  Countv  Fair 
which  he  had  attended  each  year  since  its  organization  in  IS  18 


103 


The  Shepherd  Family  105 

All  of  those  which  are  reminiscent  and  historic  are  of 
such  value  that  it  is  hoped  they  may  be  treasured  in  some 
public  archives  and  thus  become  available  to  students  of 
local  history.  In  his  letters  he  resisted  forcefully  the  ruinous 
plan  of  the  railroad  companies  in  reference  to  the  grade 
crossings,  and  gave  unanswerable  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
"meadow  plan"  to  place  the  Union  Station  near  the  spot 
where  the  residence  of  Mrs.  John  L.  Draper  now  stands. 
But  Mr.  Shepherd  and  the  local  press  (the  Hampshire  County 
Journal)  were  too  progressive  for  the  time,  and  a  compromise 
plan  was  finally  adopted  by  which  the  railroad  tracks  were 
placed  over  the  street,  instead  of  under,  and  the  station 
allowed  to  remain  where  it  was  with  a  high  embankment 
dividing  the  city.  This  was  but  one  instance  of  the  many 
astute  and  timely  views  he  expressed  in  his  old  age  on  matters 
of  local  public  welfare. 

Mr.  Shepherd  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife,  whom 
he  married  February  14,  1838,  was  Elizabeth  M.  Strong, 
daughter  of  Captain  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Strong 
of  Belchertown,  Massachusetts.  Mrs.  Strong  was  grand- 
daughter of  Dr.  Phineas  and  Abigail  (Lay)  Smith,  of  the  dis- 
tinguished John  Cotton  Smith  family  of  Sharon,  Litchfield 
County,  Connecticut,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Samuel  and 
Jerusha  (Mather)  Smith.  The  latter  was  a  descendant  of 
Richard  Mather,  first  president  of  Harvard  College.  Other 
distinguished  ancestors  of  Mrs.  Shepherd  were  Governor  John 
Haynes  and  Governor  Wyllys  of  Connecticut. 

John  Devotion,  one  of  the  founders  of  Brookline,  Massa- 
chusetts, another  interesting  ancestor,  was  of  the  Huguenot 
family,  De  Vaution.  On  the  paternal  side,  Elizabeth  (Strong) 
Shepherd  was  a  descendant  through  the  Hebron,  Connecticut, 
branch,  of  Elder  John  Strong.  There  were  three  daughters 
born  to  this  union  of  the  Strong  and  Shepherd  families; 


106  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Mrs.  Mary  E.  (Shepherd)  Cogill,  Mrs.  Helen  M.  (Shepherd) 
Crane,  and  Mrs.  Catherine  (Tryon  Shepherd)  Smith,  wife  of 
Albert  E.  Smith  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  Only  the 
last  named  is  living. 

Mrs.  Smith,  who  is  greatly  interested  in  historical  and 
genealogical  research,  joined  the  Northampton  (Betty  Allen) 
Chapter,  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  some 
years  ago,  and  she  served  as  vice  regent  from  1912  to  1915. 
During  almost  the  entire  period  of  her  membership  she  has 
been  active  in  the  movement  inaugurated  by  her  chapter 
to  secure  some  old  landmark  of  the  city  to  use  as  a  Chapter 
House. 

Henry  Shepherd  was  united  in  his  second  marriage  with 
Susan  L.  B.  Munroe  of  Boston.  They  had  one  son,  Thomas 
M.  Shepherd,  who  is  now  living  in  Northampton  in  the  old 
Bridge  Street  homestead  shown  in  one  of  the  illustrations 
of  this  chapter. 

Mrs.  Susan  (Munroe)  Shepherd's  ancestry  on  the  Mun- 
roe side  is  traced  to  Mary  Chilton,  a  passenger  on  the  May- 
flower, who,  tradition  says,  was  the  "first  woman  to  step 
on  Plymouth  Rock"  when  the  Pilgrims  disembarked  from 
that  historic  ship.  Mary  Chilton  married  John  Winslow  in 
1627,  and  their  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Miles  Standish, 
Jr.  Through  the  families  of  Middlecott,  Boucher,  Foye,  and 
Munroe  is  traced  Mrs.  Shepherd's  Mayflower  line.  Her  Rev- 
olutionary ancestor,  Ensign  Munroe,  was  the  first  man  killed 
in  the  fight  at  Lexington.  His  was  thus  the  first  blood  shed 
in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

In  his  later  years  Henry  Shepherd  became  both  a  fa- 
miliar and  a  beloved  figure  on  the  streets  of  Northampton. 
The  remarkable  mental  and  physical  vigor  which  marked 
him  at  this  time  contributed  to  the  interest  his  appearance 
aroused.    Many  now  remember  the  beautiful  picture  presented 


Shepherd  Dining  Room 


showing  all  the  seven  different  kinds  of  tableware  used  here  since  the  settlement  of  this  country,  including 

silver  articles  deposited  in  the  family  well  at  Charlestown,  to  escape 

destruction  when  the  British  burned  that  place,  in  1775. 


107 


Colonial  Sleeping  Room  in  the  Shepherd  Homestead 

showing  family  heirloom  furniture  including  high-poster  bed-spread 
embroidered  by  an  ancestor  in  1735 


109 


The  Shepherd  Family  111 

by  the  old  man  of  handsome  and  stalwart  figure  riding 
his  mettlesome  Kentucky  thoroughbred,  "Mr.  Fox,"  in  com- 
pany with  his  son,  and  many  eyes  followed  the  two  as 
they  cantered  briskly  down  the  street  of  an  early  summer 
morning. 

In  his  ninetieth  year,  and  only  a  few  months  before  his 
death,  he  shared  with  his  son  and  John  J.  Eddy,  a  Boston 
banker,  a  prolonged  horseback  ride  of  a  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  through  the  Hampshire  and  Berkshire  hills.  The  trip 
lasted  eight  days,  and  yet  he  returned  only  slightly  fatigued. 

He  died  in  the  family  homestead  on  Bridge  Street,  No- 
vember 20, 1900,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  The  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  was  shown  by  the  many  prominent  citi- 
zens who  gathered  at  the  old  home  to  honor  his  memory. 

The  tributes  there  paid  him  by  his  pastor,  and  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Henry  T.  Rose,  his  next  door  neighbor,  were  most  touch- 
ing and  truthful.  The  fine  qualities  of  his  character  were 
well  portrayed  by  Dr.  Rose  who  said  in  part,  as  follows: 

"He  was  a  son  of  the  morning.  I  suppose  he  has  seen 
more  sunrises  than  any  man  left  in  the  city.  He  wanted  to 
be  out  with  the  wind  and  the  sunlight  and  under  the  sky. 
As  he  came  and  went  so  often  on  horseback,  I  heard  in  the 
drowsy  morning  the  hoofbeats  of  his  horse  as  he  returned 
from  his  early  ride,  and  I  knew  that  he  brought  back  with 
him  the  spirit  of  the  opening  day,  its  cheer  and  its  promise 
and  unwasting  hope.  And  so,  all  day  long  he  was  a  man  of 
action.  His  eye  was  strong  with  youth.  He  kept  the  mind 
of  childhood  (and  not  of  second  childhood)  through  to  the 
end  of  life.  The  morning  lasted  all  day  with  him  and  in  his 
case  it  was  true,  that  'at  evening  time  there  shall  be  light.' 
He  believed  in  the  new  dogmas  as  he  did  in  the  precious  old 
ones,  and  he  had  a  simple  faith  in  God  and  man  and  the 
spirit  leading  unto  truth.     There  was  a  large  and  deep  re- 


112  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


ligious  life  with  him  that  showed  itself  in  a  generous  and 
kindly  hospitality  and  openness  of  heart  and  manner.  He 
has  so  often  spoken  of  the  cardinal  thing  in  religion  as  being 
the  love  of  God.  He  said,  over  and  over  again,  we  must  not 
get  away  from  that.  It  is  the  essential  thing.  That  was 
the  anchor  of  his  philosophy  and  his  life.  Now  this,  in  a 
few  words,  with  no  desire  of  effort  to  analyze  his  character, 
is  the  impression  he  made  on  one  of  his  neighbors,  a  new 
comer  in  his  vicinity,  but  impressed  with  the  quality  of  the 
man  and  his  interesting  personality.  He  was  a  strong  man 
and  unafraid,  generous  and  true,  who  has  left  a  fair  name, 
a  most  interesting  story  and  a  precious  memory." 

THOMAS  MUNROE  SHEPHERD 

Thomas  M.  Shepherd,  son  of  Henry  and  Susan  L.  B. 
Shepherd,  was  born  in  Northampton,  September  18,  1856, 
inheriting  an  honorable  ancestry.  After  several  years  in  Miss 
Wright's  private  school  on  Bridge  Street,  he  attended  the 
town  schools,  and  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  1875. 

Beginning  life  with  no  financial  inheritance,  he  early 
decided  on  a  business  career  and  entered  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Northampton,  where  he  completed  an  apprentice- 
ship of  three  years.  He  received  no  encouragement  to  re- 
main in  the  home  town  from  the  business  men  there,  and 
hence  became  associate  with  the  banking  firm  of  J.  G.  Mack- 
intosh Company  of  Holyoke.  From  this  firm  and  others  he 
found  business  recognition  and  success. 

He  had  early  realized  that  a  discreet  reticence,  pains- 
taking detail,  and  loyalty  to  his  business  house,  which  meant 
attention  to  its  affairs  before  indulgence  in  his  own  pleasures, 
were  the  true  foundation  stones  of  success.  He  later  became 
secretary  of  the  Manufacturers'  Trust  Company  of  Holyoke, 
and  on  the  liquidation  of  that  institution,  after  having  been 


Thomas  Munroe  Shepherd 


113 


The  Shepherd  Family  115 

in  Holyoke  eighteen  years,  he  went  into  business  for  himself 
in  Springfield. 

While  there  he  was  appointed  co-receiver  of  the  Taber 
Prang  Art  Company,  which  gave  him  the  opportunity  to 
make  a  unique  record  in  a  position  too  often  used  for  pecuniary 
profit  to  the  holder  of  it.  At  the  beginning  of  this  receiver- 
ship, had  he  chosen  to  adopt  such  a  course,  he  could  have 
purchased  many  shares  of  the  company  at  five  cents  on  a 
dollar,  so  disheartened  were  the  stockholders  of  the  enterprise. 
He  was  offered  stock  by  one  man  interested,  who  told  him 
that  he  "could  feather  his  own  nest,"  like  some  other  re- 
ceivers, before  he  gave  the  stockholders  anything.  But  Mr. 
Shepherd  advised  the  shareholders  to  retain  their  stock,  and 
then  began  a  long  period  of  hard  work.  There  were  law 
suits  to  be  met,  and  he  was  required  to  furnish  the  material 
for  the  arguments  before  the  United  States  Court.  The  case 
was  decided  in  favor  of  the  company.  It  was  nearly  three 
years  before  he  was  able  to  show  results,  but  these  were  re- 
markable ones.  In  1901  he  announced  that  every  creditor 
had  been  paid  one  hundred  cents  on  a  dollar,  and  that  the 
affairs  of  the  company  were  placed  on  a  new  firm  basis,  and 
the  property  turned  back  to  the  stockholders.  Probably 
there  is  no  record  of  a  similar  result  having  been  accomplished 
in  this  state,  and  Mr.  Shepherd  has  had  the  highest  satisfac- 
tion and  gratitude  expressed  by  the  corporation  and  their 
creditors.  The  compliments  paid  him  by  the  press  of  the 
Connecticut  Valley  would  fill  several  pages  of  this  book. 

Retiring  from  active  business  life  before  fifty  years  of 
age,  content  with  having  accumulated  a  modest  fortune,  he 
now  has  the  opportunity  to  enjoy  the  best  of  life.  He  has 
leisure  for  travel  and  pleasant  recreation,  and  the  means  to 
assist  others,  a  task  which  he  carries  out  in  quiet  methods 
and  in  the  wisest  fashion,  by  helping  others  to  help  them- 


116  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

selves,  as  the  recipients  of  his  assistance  can  and  do  gladly 
testify. 

His  fortune  has  been  earned  by  the  hardest  kind  of  labor, 
intelligent  brain  work,  and  persistent  application.  This  state- 
ment has  been  made  because  so  many  fortunes  of  these  times 
are  gained  by  "grinding  the  faces  of  the  poor,"  and  by  cor- 
rupt and  questionable  means.  He  does  not  claim  any  credit 
for  his  own  methods  of  accumulating  a  fortune,  but  his 
friends  do  for  him.  When  asked  what  advice  he  would  give 
young  men  from  his  own  experience,  he  said : — 

"Avoid  tobacco  and  liquor  first  of  all.  Be  prompt  and 
cheerful.  Make  your  employer's  interests  your  own.  Be 
not  afraid  to  do  more  than  you  are  paid  for.  Learn  all  parts 
of  a  trade.  When  you  reach  a  position  of  authority  do  as 
you  agree  and  require  it  of  others.  Win  the  confidence  of 
your  associates.  Do  business  so  that  you  can  do  it  again 
with  the  same  people." 


The  Northampton  City  Seal  designed  by  Thomas  M.  Shepherd 

One  of  his  most  remarkable  characteristics  is  versatility 
in  many  directions.  His  particular  branch  of  the  banking 
profession  has  given  him  experience  in  various  manufacturing 


Mrs.  Thomas  Munroe  Shepherd 


117 


The  Shepherd  Family  119 


problems.  A  native  ingenuity  and  skill  in  technical  work 
has  been  aided  by  close  observation  of  men  and  things.  He 
has  also  inherited  an  excellent  ear  for  music  and  a  great  fa- 
cility with  artist's  tools,  for  he  is  a  notable  amateur  landscape 
painter  in  both  oil  and  water  colors,  and  an  excellent  work- 
man with  pen  and  ink  and  etching.  Interesting,  in  this 
branch,  are  the  designs  for  the  seals  now  used  by  Northamp- 
ton and  by  Hatfield,  as  well  as  various  other  designs  for 
book  covers,  monograms,  illustrations,  and  letter  heads  for 
business  and  festive  occasions. 

This  versatility  has  also  carried  him  into  many  social 
affairs,  including  amateur  dramatics  and  public  enterprises. 
While  in  Holyoke,  he  was  for  ten  years  secretary  and  man- 
ager of  the  Arlington  Club,  then  the  leading  social  organiza- 
tion of  that  city.  He  was  also  the  Northampton  member  of 
the  Springfield  Annual  Charity  Ball  Committee  for  many 
years,  and  was  prominent  in  the  social  life  of  these  neighbor- 
ing cities.  His  ancestry  made  him  eligible  for  membership 
in  the  Massachusetts  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution,  and  he  is  now  president  of  the  Seth  Pomeroy 
Chapter  of  Northampton. 

When  Northampton  celebrated  its  Quarter  Millennial 
anniversary,  Mr.  Shepherd  was  appointed  by  the  mayor  a 
member  of  the  general  committee  and  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  historical  collections.  He  arranged  an  exhibition 
in  the  James  house  on  Gothic  Street  which  drew  the  attention 
of  antiquarians  and  the  general  public  from  far  and  near. 

Later  he  figured  prominently  in  the  pageant  given  by  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  in  "Wildwood," 
June,  1911,  when  many  thousand  people  witnessed  the  several 
performances.  On  this  occasion  he  took  the  part  of  his 
ancestor,  General  Seth  Pomeroy,  which  necessitated  a  wild 
horseback  ride  across  the  woodland  stage. 


120  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

He  has  taken  much  interest  in  the  Child's  Welfare  move- 
ment, and  was  an  energetic  worker  for  the  exhibition  given 
in  its  behalf  in  the  city  hall  in  Northampton  early  in  the 
winter  of  1912. 

Mr.  Shepherd  has  never  craved  nor  held  any  political 
office,  although  he  has  generally  affiliated  with  the  Republican 
and  sometimes  with  the  Prohibition  parties.  His  church  in- 
terests have  always  been  with  the  Unitarian  faith,  and  he 
has  invariably  been  an  active  member  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
He  designed  and  gave  to  the  new  building  of  the  Northampton 
Unitarian  Society  in  1905  a  memorial  window  in  honor  of  his 
father  and  mother,  which  he  entitled  "Service."  The  central 
figure  against  a  local  landscape  is  that  of  a  mother  caressing 
her  child  and  pointing  upward  with  her  right  hand,  illustrating 
the  inscription  on  the  window,  "Serve  the  Lord  with  Glad- 
ness," and  "I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills  from  whence 
cometh  my  help." 

He  also  prepared  and  gave  the  contents  for  the  corner 
stone,  and  at  its  laying  made  interesting  remarks.  He  is  now 
a  member  of  the  advisory  board  of  the  Children's  Home;  a 
trustee  of  the  Cooley-Dickinson  Hospital;  and  librarian  of  the 
Northampton  Historical  Society,  as  well  as  vice-president  of 
the  Connecticut  Valley  Conference  of  Liberal  Churches. 

His  principal  service  to  his  fellow  men,  however,  came 
in  an  unexpected  way  to  the  general  public,  when  he  erected 
and  presented  to  the  trustees  of  the  Dickinson  Hospital  a 
surgery  building  which  had  long  been  needed,  but  was  utterly 
beyond  the  power  of  the  management  to  obtain  with  its  slen- 
der endowment.  This  he  was  led  to  do  as  his  contribution 
to  aiding  suffering  humanity,  and  as  a  memorial  to  his  father. 
He  designed  the  entire  building,  made  the  drawings,  and  had 
the  work  done  under  his  own  supervision,  and  paid  for  it 
rom  money  acquired  by  his  own  efforts. 


The  Henry  Shepherd  Surgery 


121 


The  Shepherd  Family  123 

It  was  opened  to  the  public  June  3,  1904.  Illustrations 
accompanying  this  chapter  show  both  interior  and  exterior 
views  of  the  building  but  an  inspection  is  needed  to  reveal 
the  painstaking  care  used  in  the  construction  and  the  de- 
tailed arrangements  of  the  building.  Before  designing  the 
surgery  Mr.  Shepherd  visited  many  similar  adjuncts  to  hos- 
pitals in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  thus  was  able  to 
design  and  build  an  operating  room  that  was  not  only  fitted 
with  the  best  equipment  of  the  time,  but  contained  many  new 
features  anticipating  future  needs. 

This  memorial  of  a  son  to  his  father  will  be  better  ap- 
preciated when  it  is  remembered  that  the  latter's  humani- 
tarian ideas  were  so  strong  and  so  constantly  expressed  in 
his  life  and  writings,  that  only  to  think  of  Henry  Shepherd 
is  to  recall  his  intense  interest  in  anything  that  was  offered 
for  the  amelioration  of  the  ills  of  human  beings.  If  he  had 
been  told  of  this  gift  he  would  have  said  that  an  aid  to  human 
suffering  by  the  most  scientific  means  obtainable  was  more 
in  accordance  with  his  wishes  than  any  ornate  monument 
could  have  been.  That  this  also  was  the  view  of  the  general 
public  was  soon  evident  when  the  building  was  open  for 
general  inspection.  Among  the  many  appreciative  comments 
was  the  following:  "If  erecting  such  a  building  and  perma- 
nently providing  for  suffering  humanity  is  not  a  Christian 
act  then  I  do  not  know  what  makes  one/'  The  inscription 
on  the  tablet  bears  out  the  donor's  own  motives.     It  reads: 

For  the  relief  of  human  suffering 

And  in  loving  memory  of  his  father 

Henry  Shepherd 

For  many  years  a  resident  of  Northampton 

This  building  was  erected  by 

Thomas  Munroe  Shepherd, 

1901 


124  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


Having  spent  more  than  two  years  in  the  erection  of  the 
surgery,  and  having  retired  from  business,  Mr.  Shepherd  felt 
that  he  could  safely  carry  out  a  long  wished  for  ambition. 
He  left  his  personal  business  in  other  hands  and  started  on 
an  extended  period  of  travel.  First  he  visited  the  beauty 
spots  of  our  own  country,  and  then  those  of  foreign  lands. 
He  spent  eight  years  in  these  journey ings  covering  a  distance 
of  ninety  thousand  miles,  and  visiting  fifty  different  nations, 
among  them  remote  parts  of  South  America,  Africa,  and  the 
Orient.  He  returned  with  a  rare  collection  of  typical  and 
interesting  souvenirs.  These  comprise  varied  examples  of 
art,  technical  work  and  fabrics  of  all  countries  visited,  and 
a  unique  journal  illustrated  with  pen  and  ink  sketches. 

On  September  15,  1914,  Mr.  Shepherd  married  Miss 
Edith  Carpenter  of  San  Francisco,  third  daughter  of  George 
Washington  Carpenter,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth,  who  was  a 
great-granddaughter  of  John  Kays,  an  aid-de-camp  of  General 
George  Washington  in  the  Valley  Forge  days  of  1777. 

After  he  and  his  bride  had  visited  nearly  all  the  countries 
of  the  Orient  they  returned  to  the  ancestral  Shepherd  home 
in  1915. 

Among  the  old  houses  of  Northampton  this  home  is 
unique.  Without  striking  architectural  features  or  an  ob- 
trusive display  of  wealth,  it  contains  the  best  articles  of 
household  use  since  the  year  of  its  erection  in  1792.  If  one 
should  study  all  its  treasures  he  would  be  well  acquainted  with 
the  life  of  New  England  people  since  that  time.  These  be- 
longings are  notable  from  having  been  in  the  possession  and 
use  of  one  family.  They  include  all  departments  from 
strange  wrought  iron  farming  implements,  oxbow,  fire  box, 
warming  pan,  willowware  dishes,  old  pewter,  and  other  uten- 
sils, to  samplers,  silhouettes,  ivory  miniatures,  bridal  robes, 
and  baby  dresses;    mahogany  sideboard  and  lowboy,  even 


Instrument  Room 


Sterilization  Room 


Operating  Room 


Sewing  Room 

Interior  scenes  in  the  Henry  Shepherd  Surgery 


125 


The  Shepherd  Family 


127 


glass  decanters,  and  pestle  and  mortar  used  by  the  old  dames 
when  they  compounded  toddy  for  the  visiting  parson  and 
pounded  up  lump  sugar  to  sweeten  the  drink.  Such  a  col- 
lection should  be  housed  in  a  fireproof  building  for  the  in- 
struction of  a  new  America  in  the  daily  events  of  a  vanishing 
New  England  life  when  the  necessities  of  that  life  were  manu- 
factured within  the  home. 

Evidences  of  Mr.  Shepherd's  artistic  skill  are  seen  in  the 
many  sketches  of  grand  American  and  foreign  scenery,  few 
of  which  can  find  place  on  the  walls  of  the  home,  and  in  the 
rare  souvenirs  from  abroad,  and  the  mottoes  displayed  over 
fireplaces  and  on  wall  hangings,  which  were  painted  by  the 
owner  of  the  house.  Some  of  the  treasures  are  shown  in 
the  accompanying  photographs,  but  to  realize  their  attrac- 
tiveness one  must  visit  the  house  itself.  Such  a  visit  is 
esteemed  a  great  good  fortune  by  those  who  gain  entrance 
to  its  pleasant  rooms. 


EDWARD  H.  R.  LYMAN 

Publisher's  Note 

THE  biographical  text,  which  had  been  prepared 
for  this  volume  to  accompany  the  portrait  of 
Mr.  E.  H.  R.  Lyman  and  the  view  on  the  grounds 
of  his  estate  at  "Fort  Hill"  in  this  city,  has  been  omitted  by 
request  of  the  family.  It  is  hoped  that  a  family  memorial 
book  will,  in  the  future,  supply  the  knowledge  needed  of  one 
of  Northampton's  most  noted  families,  and  of  that  worthy 
descendant,  Mr.  E.  H.  R.  Lyman,  who  has  so  endeared  himself 
to  all  Northampton's  citizens. 


128 


Edward  H.  R.  Lyman 

Father  of  the  Municipal  Theater  in  the  United  States 


129 


View  on  the  Lyman  Estate  at  Fort  Hill 


131 


THE  WILLIAMS  FAMILY 

A  family  that  has  had  many  members  of  sterling  worth 
both  in  Britain  and  America. 

THE  name  of  the  Williams  family  is  derived  from  the 
ancient  personal  name,  William.  The  family,  which  is 
of  great  antiquity  in  the  British  Isles,  had  its  seat  in 
Flint,  Wales,  and  in  Lincolnshire,  England.  It  is  said  that 
Oliver  Cromwell,  the  "Great  Protector/'  was  a  Williams  by 
descent,  and  that  Richard  Williams,  who  settled  in  Taunton, 
was  related  to  him.  However  this  may  be,  these  are  facts: 
Alden  Cromwell  lived  in  the  age  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
and  among  his  ten  children  was  one,  born  about  1494,  named 
Sir  Henry  Cromwell,  alias  Williams.  He  was  called  the 
"Golden  Knight  of  Hinchenbrook."  The  alias  finally  came 
to  be  used  quite  generally  by  the  family,  so  that  when  Oliver, 
the  "Protector,"  came  on  the  world's  stage  it  was  assumed 
as  a  right.  He  used  the  alias  in  his  youth  and  his  name 
appeared  later  on  deeds  as  "Oliver  Williams,  alias  Cromwell." 
Robert  Williams  was  the  earliest  English  immigrant 
ancestor  of  the  Williams  family  in  America,  and  among  his 
descendants  have  been  such  distinguished  men  as  the  founder 
of  Williams  college,  a  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Connecticut, 

133 


134  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


several  prominent  clergymen,  and  other  noted  men  in  arts 
and  science. 

Just  how  Robert  Williams  came  to  this  country  is  not 
recorded,  but  he  was  one  of  the  early  members  of  the  first 
church  in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  where  he  became  a 
citizen  in  1638.  It  is  not  known  when  he  was  born  or  where 
he  lived  in  England,  but  much  searching  of  records  has  finally 
brought  out  the  fact  that  he  had  something  to  do  with  the 
leather  business  in  the  city  of  Norwich.  There  is  a  record  of 
the  birth  of  his  children,  but  none  of  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth 
Stalham,  of  whom  this  little  story  is  told : 

"She  was  of  a  good  family  and  had  been  delicately  reared, 
and  when  the  husband  desired  to  come  to  America  she  dreaded 
the  undertaking  and  shrank  from  the  hardships  to  be  en- 
countered. While  the  subject  was  under  consideration  she 
had  a  dream  to  the  effect  that  if  she  went  to  America  she  would 
become  the  mother  of  a  long  line  of  worthy  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  The  dream  so  impressed  her  that  she 
cheerfully  rose  up  and  began  to  prepare  to  leave  her  home 
and  kindred  for  the  new  and  distant  land.  The  dream  was 
fulfilled,  but  not  in  her  day,  for  she  died,  leaving  no  son  in 
the  Christian  ministry,  but  her  grandsons,  John  and  William 
Williams,  graduated  from  Harvard  College,  being  two  mem- 
bers of  a  class  of  three  only,  in  1683,  and  the  day  of  fulfillment 
began." 

Emmanuel  Williams  is  also  claimed  as  an  immigrant 
ancestor  of  the  family  in  this  country,  but  the  records  do  not 
furnish  much  satisfactory  data.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  and  died  about  1720. 

The  most  authentic  and  intelligible  records  speak  of 
Ebenezer  Williams,  who  is  said  to  have  been  born  at  Canter- 
bury, Connecticut,  in  1725.  Before  the  Revolutionary  War 
he  moved  on  horseback  to  Worthington,  Massachusetts. 


The  Williams  Family  135 


Leonard  Williams,  son  of  Ebenezer,  was  a  well-known 
physician  of  Hampshire  County.  He  was  born  in  Worthington 
in  1774,  but  studied  medicine  and  practiced  in  a  part  of 
Chester  which  was  later  made  a  part  of  the  town  of  Hunting- 
ton. Dr.  Williams  married  Olive  Wadsworth  of  Becket,  and 
they  had  three  children,  Jabin  B.,  James  H.,  and  Arvilla  A. 

Jabin  B.,  the  most  noted  member  of  that  family  was 
born  January  5,  1800,  in  Worthington.  He  was  only  four 
years  old  when  his  parents  removed  to  Huntington,  where 
he  attended  school  and  assisted  in  the  home  tasks  until  he 
was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Then  he  went  to  Becket  for  a 
a  short  time,  but  soon  returned  to  Huntington  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  mercantile  line  of  trade  as  the  pro- 
prietor of  what  was  known  as  a  general  country  variety  store. 
He  was  very  successful,  and  remained  in  business  until  his 
death  in  1859. 

He  married  Lydia  Wilson  of  Huntington,  and  they  had 
six  children:  Leonard  Wilson,  who  died  in  Lenox,  aged 
eighteen  years;  Lucien  B.;  Cynthia  A.,  who  later  married 
Israel  D.  Clark  of  Northampton;  Ermina  L.,  who  died  as  an 
infant;  Henry  F.,  deceased,  who  was  in  business  with  his 
brother  Lucien  for  several  years;  and  Charles  E.,  also  de- 
ceased. 

Jabin  Williams  was  a  very  prominent  citizen  of  Hunting- 
ton where  he  was  concerned  in  the  administration  of  many 
local  affairs.  In  1853  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  state  constitu- 
tional convention.  He  was  an  influential  Democrat,  and, 
though  averse  to  office-holding,  he  served  as  magistrate  for 
many  years.  He  was  recognized  as  an  authority  on  legal 
questions,  and  was  a  wise  and  friendly  counsellor  to  his  neigh- 
bors, who  had  great  faith  in  his  integrity  and  good  judgment. 
His  office,  in  the  store,  was  headquarters  for  many  years  for 
United  States  pensioners.     They  were  accustomed  to  con- 


136  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

gregate  there  for  the  filling  of  their  vouchers,  and  some- 
times as  many  as  forty  of  them  gathered  in  the  store  for 
that  purpose. 

During  his  long  life  Mr.  Williams  made  many  friends  and 
few  enemies,  something  not  often  said  of  magistrates,  but  his 
was  an  open  kindly  nature,  and  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  his 
decisions  were  seldom  questioned. 

LUCIEN  B.  WILLIAMS 
A  Prominent  Manufacturer 

Lucien  Bennett  Williams,  descended  from  the  line  of 
noted  ancestry  spoken  of  in  the  preceding  pages,  was  born  in 
Becket,  Berkshire  County,  February  3,  1825,  and  died  at  his 
residence  in  Northampton,  July  23,  1895. 

Mr.  Williams  had  all  the  advantages  which  a  common 
school  education  afford  in  his  native  town,  and  then  attended 
the  Wilbraham  Academy.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years 
he  returned  to  Huntington  to  help  his  father,  who  had  become 
established  in  business  as  a  country  storekeeper.  In  a  short 
time  young  Williams  was  admitted  to  partnership,  and  on 
the  death  of  his  father  he  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the 
business. 

Soon  after  this  he  became  interested  in  the  manufacture 
of  baskets  in  Huntington,  by  buying  out  the  plant  of  a  well 
established  business,  and  he  continued  there  until  about  the 
time  the  Civil  War  broke  out.  In  1862  he  moved  to  North- 
ampton, where  he  began  basket-making  on  a  much  larger 
scale,  and  the  manufacture  increased  to  greater  proportions 
year  by  year.  He  produced  baskets  of  splint  and  rattan  of 
all  sizes  and  kinds,  including  clothes,  peach,  market,  and 
farm  baskets.  During  Mr.  Williams'  ownership,  the  mill 
capacity  was  very  large.    As  many  as  eight  thousand  baskets 


Lucien  B.  Williams 


137 


The  Williams  Family  139 

a  day  were  turned  out.  Employment  was  furnished  to  about 
two  hundred  hands. 

Mr.  Williams  made  his  business  of  manufacturing  just 
as  successful  in  its  way  as  he  did  his  mercantile  trade  in 
Huntington,  and  after  selling  out  the  store  he  proceeded  to 
organize  a  corporation  to  back  his  Northampton  enterprise. 
This  was  some  fifty  years  ago,  and  the  names  of  the  incor- 
porators of  that  time  are  recalled  with  some  interest  now. 
They  were:  President,  L.  B.  Williams;  treasurer,  Henry  F. 
Williams;   and  Charles  E.  Williams. 

Mr.  Williams  never  held  any  political  office,  although 
often  urged  to  interest  himself  in  politics.  He  was  a  Democrat 
up  to  the  time  of  the  war,  but  after  that  gave  his  adherence 
to  the  Republican  party,  and  was  a  supporter  of  all  the 
measures  looking  to  the  success  of  the  Union  arms.  He  was 
one  who.  never  needed  to  be  appealed  to  more  than  once  for 
the  support  of  measures  that  seemed  likely  to  inure  to  the 
material  and  moral  betterment  of  Northampton,  the  state,. 
or  the  country.  He  was  an  attendant  at  the  "Old"  First 
Church;  and  had  at  least  that  distinction,  if  he  did  not  "own 
meadow  land." 

As  a  representative  business  man  he  was  often  called 
on  for  official  service  in  various  corporations.  He  was  treas- 
urer of  the  Florence  Sewing  Machine  Company  in  its  pros- 
perous days,  and  for  many  years  a  director  of  the  Northamp- 
ton Emery  Wheel  Company,  wherein  he  was  associated  with 
the  late  General  John  L.  Otis,  who  was  one  of  his  warmest 
friends. 

For  many  years  he  was  a  director  of  the  Northampton 
National  Bank,  and  was  serving  in  that  capacity  at  the  time 
of.  the  memorable  robbery  of  that  institution.  He  became 
very  prominent  as  the  director  who  did  most  personal  work 
in  interviewing  the  robbers  and  recovering  what  funds  were 


140  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

restored.  In  doing  this  he  took  many  personal  risks,  and  had 
seriously  unpleasant  adventures  in  the  different  meeting 
places  that  the  robbers  appointed.  During  the  imprisonment 
of  the  robbers  in  our  local  jail  at  the  time  of  the  trial,  they 
were  very  complimentary  of  his  ability  and  square  dealing 
with  them.  That  as  large  a  sum  was  recovered  from  this  great 
loss  was  due  to  much  individual  bravery  and  great  business 
acumen  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Williams. 

As  a  manufacturer,  he,  with  five  other  New  England 
concerns,  held  the  honored  distinction  of  having  in  their 
employ  the  largest  number  of  employes  who  had  served  them 
for  the  longest  period  of  time. 

Mr.  Williams'  life  was  spent  largely  in  the  interests  of 
his  family,  and,  as  the  oldest  brother,  he  bore  to  an  unusual 
degree  the  cares  of  that  family. 

Mr.  Williams  married  September  1,  1847,  Harriet 
Copeland  of  Huntington,  a  daughter  of  Melvin  and  Lucinda 
(Blake)  Copeland.  Mr.  Copeland  was  a  native  of  Sturbridge, 
Massachusetts,  whence  he  moved  to  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
where  he  married.  While  a  resident  of  Hartford  he  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  carpenter's  tools.  Later  he  moved 
to  Huntington  and  carried  on  the  same  business  there 
until  his  decease  in  1866.  Mrs.  Williams  was  born  and 
reared  in  Hartford,  and  finished  her  education  in  the  Hartford 
Seminary. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  had  four  children:  Mary,  who 
died  in  infancy;  Frederick,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years; 
Helen,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen;  and  Henry  L.,  now 
living. 

HENRY  L.  WILLIAMS 

Henry  L.  Williams  was  born  January  2,  1859.  He  is  a 
native  of  Huntington,  but  moved  to  Northampton  in  1862. 


Approach  to  the  Williams  Family  Residence 


141 


The  Williams  Family  143 

He  was  fitted  for  college  under  the  teaching  of  that  excel- 
lent instructor  in  his  time,  Daniel  D.  Gorham,  and  graduated 
from  Yale  in  1882. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  became  associated  with  his 
father,  Lucien  B.  Williams,  in  the  management  of  the  Williams 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  after  the  death  of  his  father 
became  president  of  the  concern.  Following  a  disastrous 
fire  a  few  years  ago,  it  seemed  likely,  for  a  time,  that  the 
business  would  not  be  revived,  but  Mr.  Williams  was  of  too 
energetic  a  temperament  to  resign  his  life-work  because  of 
such  discouragement,  and  he  soon  found  that  he  had  many 
friends  in  the  community  who  were  ready  with  good  counsel 
and  aid  to  place  the  business  on  secure  foundations  again. 
Land  was  purchased  adjoining  the  Boston  and  Main  Railroad, 
and  within  a  few  months  modern  fireproof  buildings  were 
erected.  The  business  presently  became  established  more 
firmly  than  ever,  with  better  and  more  modern  machinery 
to  work  with,  and  it  is  today  enjoying  a  marked  degree  of 
prosperity. 

Mr.  Williams  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  at  the  head 
of  this  flourishing  business.  It  is  the  largest  basket-making 
concern  in  the  world  of  its  type,  and  he  is  the  principal  owner. 

As  a  citizen  Mr.  Williams  has  distinguished  himself  in 
the  community  in  many  ways.  He  is  often  solicited  and 
drafted  for  positions  of  social  and  civic  duty,  and  has  always 
been  ready  to  respond.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Northampton 
National  Bank,  and  president  of  the  Nonotuck  Savings  Bank. 
As  Captain  of  Company  I  he  did  his  duty  in  the  Spanish- 
American  War  at  the  serious  sacrifice  of  his  health  for  many 
months  following  his  return  to  Northampton.  He  attends 
the  Second  Congregational  (Unitarian)  Church  of  North- 
ampton, and  is  chairman  of  its  executive  committee.  He 
succeeded  his  father  in  business  interest  with  the  old  Emery 


144 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


Wheel  Company  of  Leeds,  and  is  a  director  of  the  Northamp- 
ton Cutlery  Company. 

Mr.  Williams  married,  May  28,  1884,  Isabella  H.  Dewey, 
a  daughter  of  Edward  Dewey  of  Boston.  They  reside  in  the 
old  homestead.  The  illustration  in  this  chapter  shows  the 
approach  to  this  beautiful  place,  now  about  one  hundred 
years  old.  The  property  includes  five  acres  of  land,  and  the 
house  is  a  spacious  old  mansion  of  unpretentious  architec- 
ture, but  thoroughly  homelike  and  comfortable. 


The  (Sydenham  Clark)  Parsons 
Family 


'tivpon$ 


The  Parsons  Coat  oj  Arms 


145 


Sydenham  Clark  Parsons 


147 


Mrs.  (Harriet  Electa  Morton)  Sydenham  Parsons 


149 


THE  (SYDENHAM  CLARK)  PARSONS 
FAMILY 

Whose  Ancestors  were  among  the  First  Settlers  of  the 
Connecticut  Valley 

THE  ancestor  of  the  particular  branch  of  the  Parsons 
family  which  is  the   subject   of   this   sketch   was 
Sydenham  Clark  Parsons,  who  was  born  in  North- 
ampton, July  26,  1828,  and  died  there  April  8,  1876. 

The  Parsons  family  of  Northampton  has  several  house- 
hold representatives  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  but  they 
are  nearly  all  descended  from  Cornet  Joseph  Parsons,  the  first 
of  the  name,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1635.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  an  English  navy  officer,  and  he  was  the  son  of 
Sir  Thomas  Parsons,  Bart.,  of  Great  Milton,  England.  The 
latter's  ancestry  can  be  traced  back  to  the  year  1290,  to 
Walter  Parsons  of  Mulso,  Ireland. 

Cornet  Joseph  Parsons  first  appeared  in  this  country 
with  William  Pynchon's  colony  of  planters,  who  founded  the 
settlement  at  Springfield  in  1636.  There  he  was  a  man  of 
much  importance  in  the  plantation,  but  in  1642  he  became 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  new  plantation  at  Northampton. 
He  assisted  in  the  purchase  of  Indian  lands  here  in  1645,  nine 

151 


152  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

years  before  the  actual  settlement  of  the  town,  which  occurred 
in  1654. 

The  family  coat-of-arms,  granted  to  Cornet  Joseph 
Parsons'  grandfather,  consisted  of  a  shield  and  three  eagles, 
with  wings  outspread,  two  bars  containing  seven  eagles'  claws, 
and  over  this  the  head  of  a  leopard,  surmounted  by  eagles' 
claws.    The  motto,  translated,  is  "Deeds,  not  words." 

Cornet  Joseph  Parsons  died  in  Springfield  in  1683. 
Joseph,  eldest  son  of  Cornet  Joseph,  was  a  scholarly  man  and 
the  first  judge  of  the  county  court  of  Hampshire,  which  in- 
cluded the  plantations  of  Springfield  and  Northampton.  He 
was  for  many  years  closely  related  to  the  military  and  civil 
life  of  the  county. 

The  women  as  well  as  the  men  of  this  family  were  noted 
for  their  strength  of  character,  so  much  so  that  in  the  genera- 
tion when  witchcraft  is  alleged  to  have  flourished  in  New 
England  one  of  the  strong,  independent-minded  women  of 
this  family  was  pitched  on  by  her,  probably,  evil-minded 
or  envious  neighbors  as  a  witch  of  the  first  order.  The  story 
of  the  persecution  and  trial  of  Mary  Parsons  of  Northampton 
forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  historical 
manuscripts  of  Sylvester  Judd  as  collated  and  preserved  by 
Northampton's  historian,  James  R.  Trumbull. 

This  family  is  further  noted  for  the  fact  that  it  furnished 
the  first  birth  recorded  in  Northampton — one  of  Sydenham 
Parsons'  ancestors,  Ebenezer  Parsons,  who  was  born  May  1, 
1655,  a  year  after  the  settlement  of  the  town.  He  was  the 
fifth  child  of  Cornet  Joseph  and  Mary  (Bliss)  Parsons.  This 
couple  was  wedded  in  November,  1646,  at  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut. 

Phineas  Parsons,  born  January  9,  1750,  a  great  grandson 
of  Esquire  Joseph  (2d)  and  Elizabeth  (Strong)  Parsons,  was 
the  grandfather  of  Sydenham  Parsons,  and  father  of  Samuel 


&3 


*53 
C3 


Samuel  Parsons 


155 


Old  Parsons  Homestead  on  West  Street 


157 


The  Sydenham  Clark  Parsons  Family  159 

Parsons,  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  town.  The  latter 
was  quite  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  was  particularly 
noted  for  his  power  in  swaying  town  meetings.  He  served 
as  selectman  several  years,  and  represented  the  town  in  the 
Legislature  two  years.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  Novem- 
ber 20,  1821,  was  Caroline  Russell,  daughter  of  Thomas  Bliss 
of  Hartford.  They  became  the  parents  of  eight  children  — 
Samuel  L.,  Joseph  B.,  Sydenham  C,  Isaac,  and  Phineas; 
Nancy  Clark,  Caroline  Kellogg,  and  Mary  Mitchell.  Of  the 
above  named  Phineas  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  Mary 
Mitchell  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut,  and  Caroline  Kellogg  of 
Northampton  are  living. 

Sydenham  Parsons  married  Harriet  Electa  Morton  of 
East  Whately,  whose  first  ancestor  in  America  was  John 
Tower.  This  ancestor  was  born  in  England  in  1609  and  came 
to  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1637. 

Eunice  Tower,  his  great,  great,  great  granddaughter 
(of  the  sixth  generation)  married  Solomon  Morton  who 
enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  did  service 
for  a  short  period. 

In  the  year  1791  their  son,  Richard  Tower  Morton,  was 
born  in  Hatfield,  Massachusetts. 

Solomon  Morton  and  his  wife  kept  a  "Road  House"  (a 
tavern)  in  colonial  days  and  people  who  were  journeying 
through  New  England  in  stage  coaches  would  stop  to  change 
horses  and  for  rest  and  refreshments.  In  those  times  it  was 
the  fashion  to  serve  hot  rum  to  weary  travellers,  and  Richard 
Tower  Morton,  while  scarcely  more  than  a  babe,  would  eat 
the  sugar  from  the  bottoms  of  their  cups.  He  enjoyed  the 
flavor  of  the  mixture  so  well  that  he  demanded  a  glass  of  it, 
though  he  was  then  only  three  years  old.  His  mother  granted 
his  request  and  he  drank  the  liquor  quickly  and  asked  for 
another  glassful  that  she  also  served  to  him,  and  with  it  his 


160  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

craving  was  so  fully  satisfied  and  his  appetite  for  stimulants 
so  completely  satiated  that  he  never  desired  any  more.  In 
later  years  he  succeeded  his  parents  and  kept  the  old  tavern, 
but  though  he  dispensed  much  rum  to  his  guests,  he  never 
again  was  tempted  to  indulge  in  the  use  of  it  himself. 

On  his  retirement  to  private  life  Richard  Tower  Morton 
engaged  in  the  culture  of  broom  corn,  and  had  it  manu- 
factured into  brooms  which  he  sold  in  New  York  City. 
This  took  him  away  from  home  frequently  and  he  used  to 
relate  many  amusing  incidents  of  travel  in  those  early  times, 
when  wagons,  omnibuses,  and  stage-coaches  were  the  only 
means  of  transportation  for  people  and  freight.  Sometimes, 
when  he  was  a  passenger  on  one  of  the  old  conveyances,  he 
would  imagine  that  he  was  being  overcharged  for  the  ride, 
and  he  would  demand  that  the  vehicle  be  stopped  and  he 
would  get  out  and  walk.  Mr.  Morton  was  a  relative  of  the 
famous  Levi  P.  Morton,  the  New  York  banker  who  was 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States  during  the  administra- 
tion of  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Governor  of  the  state  of  New 
York. 

In  1816  Richard  Tower  Morton  married  Electa  Belden, 
the  daughter  of  Francis  Belden  of  Whately,  Massachusetts, 
and  they  had  a  family  of  four  children  consisting  of  two  sons 
and  two  daughters.  Richard  Tower  Morton  died  August  19, 
1879,  and  his  wife,  who  was  born  March  13, 1798,  died  August 
20,  1874. 

The  eldest  daughter,  Mary  Davenport  Morton,  who 
was  born  in  Whately,  married  Theodore  Sheldon  a  resident 
of  Northampton.  He  was  a  banker  and  did  business  in 
Boston,  going  to  his  office  by  train  in  the  morning  and  return- 
ing in  the  evening. 

Francis  Belden  Morton,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in 
Whately,  December  3,  1819,  and  he  died  on  June  13,  1898. 


A  Pet  of  the  Family 
161 


o 

HI 


as 

5S 
S 

o 

04 


o 
© 

g 

o 


05 


The  Sydenham  Clark  Parsons  Family  165 


He  was  engaged  in  farming  pursuits  and  lived  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Whately.  He  married  his  cousin,  Miss  Skinner,  and 
their  union  was  blessed  with  one  daughter. 

Marcus  Morton,  the  youngest  son,  was  born  in  Whately, 
December  25,  1824,  and  he  died  on  August  18,  1901.  He 
married  Cynthia  S.  Marsh  of  Hatfield.  They  had  no  children. 
Marcus  Morton  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  North- 
ampton, where  he  was  deeply  interested  in  municipal  affairs 
and  served  on  the  board  of  selectmen  for  a  lengthy  period. 

The  youngest  daughter,  Harriet  Electa  Morton,  was 
born  in  Hatfield  in  the  year  1832.  She  married  Sydenham 
Clark  Parsons,  the  member  of  the  Parsons  family  with  whom 
this  sketch  is  especially  concerned.  They  had  six  children. 
The  two  oldest,  who  were  sons,  died  in  infancy.  The  four 
daughters  are  still  living,  and  the  oldest  of  them,  Mary  Morton 
Parsons,  has  a  home  on  Round  Hill  in  Northampton.  She  is 
a  member  of  the  D.  A.  R.  and  of  the  First  Church  in  that 
City.  Miss  Parsons  takes  much  interest  in  the  church  work 
and  the  social  activities  about  her.  One  of  the  notable 
adjuncts  of  her  home  is  a  beautiful  garden  that  receives 
from  her  careful  attention. 

Amelia  Olmstead  Parsons,  the  second  daughter,  married 
E.  Hay  ward  Ferry,  a  prominent  banker  of  New  York  City. 
Their  summer  home  is  in  Newport.  They  have  one  daughter, 
now  the  wife  of  William  De  Forrest  Maurice,  Jr. 

The  third  daughter,  Harriet  Eddy  Parsons,  married 
Arthur  Curtiss  James  of  New  York  City,  who  is  widely 
known  for  his  philanthropies.  Arthur  James  contributed 
seventy  thousand  to  the  million  dollar  fund  for  Smith  Col- 
lege. This  was  given  as  a  memorial  to  Sydenham  Parsons. 
Mrs.  James  is  Honorary  President  of  the  Christodora  Mission 
in  New  York  to  whose  work  she  has  given  largely  of  both 
time  and  money. 


166  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Maud  Electa  Parsons,  the  youngest  daughter,  married 
Rev.  James  Larson  of  Watertown,  New  York,  where  they  are 
known  as  "the  live  wires  of  Watertown."  They  have  assisted 
their  parish  substantially  in  a  financial  way  as  well  as  with 
their  services. 

Sydenham  Clark  Parsons,  from  boyhood  to  mature  age, 
was  one  of  Northampton's  most  exemplary  sons.  As  a  young 
man  he  early  showed  a  thoughtfulness  and  seriousness  in 
conduct  and  a  proper  sense  of  public  duty  that  made  him 
a  marked  man  in  the  community.  This  led  him  to  a  life  of 
much  usefulness  to  his  fellowmen.  Although  he  was  diligent 
in  business  as  the  head  of  the  firm  of  Parsons  and  Wells,  which 
was  the  leading  house  in  the  druggist  trade,  he  gave  a  large 
part  of  his  time  to  religious  work.  He  was  particularly 
prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  First  Church  of  Christ  (Con- 
gregational), which,  in  his  time,  was  known  simply  as  the 
"  First "  or  "  Old  "  Church.  When  the  present  (the  fifth)  edifice 
of  this  church  was  erected,  a  memorial  window,  made  by  Louis 
Tiffany  of  New  York,  was  placed  in  it  in  honor  of  Mr.  Parsons. 
For  some  time  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school, 
and  he  was  not  only  influential  in  the  various  phases  of 
church  work,  but  he  was  one  of  the  founders  and  the  first 
president  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and 
organizer  of  the  mission  work  in  the  chapel  on  Hospital  Hill. 
This  chapel  has  lately  been  newly  furnished,  papered,  and 
painted  by  one  of  his  daughters.  Mr.  Parsons  was  an  en- 
thusiastic worker  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  when,  in  its  early  days, 
it  had  to  meet  in  a  very  modest  way  over  one  of  the  dry 
goods  stores.  At  that  time  there  was  considerable  opposi- 
tion to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  organization  among  church  people,  a 
certain  faction  of  them  contending  that  the  work  of  that 
society  was  infringing  on  the  prerogatives  of  the  church  and 
lessening  the  power  of  the  latter  for  usefulness  and  growth. 


The  New  Home  on  Round  Hill 


167 


Portico  View  from  Round  Hill  Home 


169 


The  Sydenham  Clark  Parsons  Family 


171 


Fortunately  this  view  did  not  long  prevail,  and  if  Mr.  Parsons 
and  his  coadjutors  were  living  today  they  would  doubtless 
be  greatly  rejoiced  by  the  growth  of  the  now  great  organiza- 
tion which  they  so  modestly  espoused  and  worked  for  in  the 
60's. 

Mr.  Parsons  was  foremost  in  the  religious  work  of  his 
day  in  Northampton,  and  he  was  also  a  strong  advocate  of 
temperance  or  total  abstinence  in  regard  to  the  use  of  in- 
toxicating liquors.  So  pronounced  was  he  in  his  views  and 
actions  that  he  brought  on  himself  the  ill-will  and  hatred 
of  those  who  profited  by  liquor  selling.  The  earnestness  with 
which  he  engaged  in  the  temperance  movement  of  his  times 
provoked  the  small  "plug-ugly"  element  in  the  town  to  do 
him  bodily  harm,  and  he  was  one  night  knocked  prostrate  by 
a  cowardly  blow  on  the  head  and  barely  escaped  with  his  life. 

Mr.  Parsons  never  achieved  great  wealth,  but  he  did  a 
good  business  and  used  his  financial  means,  beyond  what  was 
needed  for  his  family,  in  supporting  worthy  enterprises.  He 
was  a  great  friend  of  the  poor,  and  did  what  he  could  to  help 
that  class  to  better  themselves.  He  possessed  a  most  sunny, 
genial  temperament,  but  was  also  a  forceful  character,  strong 
and  determined  in  his  denunciation  of  wrong  and  injustice. 
His  early  death  was  undoubtedly  hastened  by  the  cowardly 
attack  made  on  him,  and  there  was  general  sorrow  in  the 
community  when  he  passed  away. 


LEWIS  J.  DUDLEY 

Educator  and  Humanitarian 

LEWIS  JOEL  DUDLEY,  son  of  Joel  and  Harriet 
Griswold  Dudley,  was  born  in  Guilford,  Connecticut, 
November  11,  1815.  His  ancestors  came  from  Lon- 
don, England,  in  1639  and  settled  in  Guilford.  He  was 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  remote  from  the  center  of  the  town, 
and  put  to  work  at  an  early  age.  Only  in  winter  did  he 
attend  the  district  school;  yet  he  later  made  his  way  through 
the  Guilford  Academy,  and  entered  Yale  College,  where  he 
graduated,  with  high  rank,  in  the  class  of  1838. 

On  leaving  college,  he  taught  in  two  Connecticut  acade- 
mies, and  in  1840  he  was  appointed  a  tutor  in  Yale  College. 
He  taught  Latin  the  first  year,  and  Greek  the  five  years  fol- 
lowing. Professor  James  Hadley  wrote  regarding  him:  "It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  his  services  have  been  of  per- 
manent value  to  the  college  in  elevating  the  standard  of 
instruction  in  the  Greek  department." 

After  resigning  his  tutorship  in  1846,  he  spent  the  next 
year  in  the  Yale  Law  School,  and  in  1847  received  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  He  passed  the  following  year  in  the  law 
office  of  Messrs.  Hungerford  and  Cone,  at  Hartford,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1848.  But  he  disliked  the  law  "plead- 
ings," as  then  conducted,  and  felt  uncertain  of  success  as  a 
lawyer.  On  the  other  hand  he  was  quite  assured  of  success 
as  a  teacher,  and,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  high  Yale  official, 
he  opened,  in  1849,  a  classical  school  for  boys  in  Northamp- 

172 


Lewis  J.  Dudley 


173 


Lewis  J.  Dudley  175 


ton,  known  as  the  Collegiate  Institute.  This  school  was  on 
Gothic  Street,  on  the  land  now  owned  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  was  familiarly  known  as  "Shady  Lawn.,,  The 
school  was  a  success,  and  continued  to  flourish  for  fourteen 
years.  Most  of  the  pupils  came  from  the  South.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  its  support  from  the  South  ter- 
minated, and,  as  conditions  nearer  home  were  not  favorable 
to  educational  experiments,  the  school  was  closed. 

When  the  war  put  an  end  to  Mr.  Dudley's  career  as  a 
teacher,  he  devoted  his  energies  to  public  service.  He  was 
State  Senator  in  1864,  and  for  three  years  was  a  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives,  and  was  active 
in  securing  direct  communication  between  Northampton  and 
Boston  by  means  of  the  Massachusetts  Central  Railroad. 

The  most  conspicuous  public  service  Mr.  Dudley  ever 
rendered  was  at  this  period  of  his  life.  It  was  due  in  great 
part  to  his  influence  and  persistence  that  the  gift  of  John 
Clarke,  to  found  a  school  where  the  deaf  should  be  taught 
to  speak,  was  accepted  by  the  state,  in  spite  of  considerable 
opposition.  Mr.  Dudley's  interest  in  this  philanthropy  was 
awakened  by  his  experience  as  a  father. 

In  May,  1851,  he  married  Theresa  Hunt  Bates,  daughter 
of  Honorable  Isaac  C.  Bates,  of  Northampton,  a  colleague 
of  Daniel  Webster  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

Two  daughters  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dudley — - 
Theresa  Bates,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Etta  Theresa,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Wallace  Holbrook  Krause,  now  of  North- 
ampton. This  child  was  without  the  faculty  of  speech,  and 
thus  a  private  sorrow  enlisted  Mr.  Dudley's  sympathy  and 
aid  in  securing  the  charter  for  the  Clarke  School  for  the 
Deaf. 

It  was  the  general  opinion  that  such  persons  could  not 
be  taught  to  speak,  but  Mr.  Dudley  would  not  believe  this, 


176 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


and  he  drew  facts  and  arguments  from  his  own  experience. 
His  appeal,  vehement,  eloquent,  and  pathetic,  carried  con- 
viction at  length,  and  the  charter  was  granted  by  the  Legis- 
lature. 

Mr.  Dudley  was  chairman  of  the  school  committee  of 
the  Clarke  School  from  its  organization  until  his  death,  and 
the  last  atom  of  his  strength  was  given  to  this  service. 

In  1883  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  Clarke 
School,  and  he  held  this  office  until  his  death,  February  27, 
1896. 

The  impression  he  made  on  a  stranger  was  that  of  a  man 
of  intellect.  Few  men  lived  so  much  in  the  spirit.  What 
fretted  him  most  was  the  effort  to  reconcile  himself  to  the 
necessary  limitations  of  human  knowledge.  Truth  was 
always  for  him  the  most  excellent  thing  in  the  world.  His 
mind  was  a  miraculous  lamp,  renewing  its  light  continually. 

He  was  a  church  attendant,  devout  in  spirit,  and  a 
constant  and  patient  hearer  of  sermons. 

Toward  the  end  of  his  life  he  lost  the  use  of  his  eyes 
in  great  part,  but,  by  hiring  other  people  to  read  to  him,  he 
kept  up  with  all  that  was  best  in  modern  thought  and  liter- 
ature. 

Through  his  whole  life  he  was,  as  a  college  classmate 
said  of  him,  "Loyal  to  truth  and  manhood,  a  genuine  hater 
of  shams,  self-conceit,  and  pretenses;  upholding  goodness, 
honor,  and  manliness,  as  a  rare  Christian  scholar  and  gentle- 
man.' ' 


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SILAS  M.  SMITH 

Successful  Merchant  and  Highly  Respected  Citizen 

SILAS  M.  SMITH  headed  one  of  the  most  noteworthy 
families  of  the  Smith  name  which  distinguished  North- 
ampton citizenship  of  the  last  generation.  His  family- 
was  not  important  in  a  political  sense,  although  one  of  his 
sons  was  a  deservedly  popular  public  servant,  and  held  office 
as  county  treasurer  for  many  years.  The  family  was  a  not- 
able one  because  it  held  a  high  position  in  the  home  life  of 
the  community,  and  its  head  contributed  largely  to  the  busi- 
ness and  social  prosperity  of  Northampton. 

Silas  Moody  Smith  was  a  native  of  Chester,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  was  born  May  8,  1810.  His  father  was 
Colonel  Horace  Smith,  who  was  born  February  16,  1781. 
Horace  Smith  married  Rebecca  Moody.  He  died  at  Am- 
herst in  1862,  in  his  eighty-first  year.  The  family  was  of 
English  ancestry,  but  its  history  has  not  been  traced  beyond 
this  country.  Silas  Smith's  immigrant  ancestor  was  Lieu- 
tenant Samuel  Smith,  who  sailed  from  Ipswich,  England,  in 
1634.  He  came  first  to  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  and  set- 
tled in  that  place.  Afterward  he  removed  to  Hadley,  Massa- 
chusetts. There  he  was  one  of  the  leading  men  and  was  sent 
to  the  Great  and  General  Court  to  represent  the  town  for 
several  years.  The  family  is  related  to  the  Springfield 
Chapins.  Asenath  Chapin,  Silas  Smith's  grandmother,  was 
descended  from  Samuel  Chapin,  who  settled  in  Springfield 
in  1642. 

179 


180  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


When  one  of  those  who  knew  Silas  Smith  well  thinks  of 
him  he  naturally  recalls  the  palmy  days  of  the  "Old"  First 
Church.  If  these  pages  could  spare  space  for  reminiscences 
of  a  personal  nature  much  interesting  matter  could  be  writ- 
ten, but  such  material  must  find  another  outlet.  It  was  in 
the  "Old"  Church  that  he  showed  the  most  useful  charac- 
teristics of  his  life,  for  there  he  was  almost  omnipresent, 
officiating  as  deacon  and  chorister  for  practically  all  his 
active  manhood  and  with  such  unfailing  urbanity,  considera- 
tion, and  efficiency  that  to  a  marked  degree  the  church  and 
parish  have  never  seemed  the  same  without  him. 

As  a  business  man  he  was  also  a  success,  and  he  and  his 
sons  built  up,  by  untiring  industry  and  courtesy  to  the  gen- 
eral public,  a  large  furniture  trade  in  the  great  block  in  the 
rear  of  the  county  court-house. 

Mr.  Smith  began  life  as  a  poor  boy.  He  came  to  North- 
ampton in  1828,  and  learned  the  furniture  trade  in  a  shop  on 
South  Street  which  stood  in  front  of  the  present  gasometer. 
In  1831  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Robert  Crossett  and 
commenced  business  in  a  three-story  wooden  structure  on 
the  site  of  the  block  long  occupied  by  the  C.  N.  Fitts  Com- 
pany. Fifteen  years  later  he  assumed  control  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  he  retained  this  control  for  twenty-five  years. 
Then  the  firm  of  S.  M.  Smith  and  Company  was  organized 
with  his  son  Watson  and  J.  H.  Searle.  In  1840  the  wooden 
building  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Mr.  Smith  lost  all  he  had, 
and  with  only  eight  hundred  dollars'  insurance  he  began 
anew,  and  put  up  the  brick  building.  In  1877,  after  he  had 
been  in  business  for  fifty-six  years  in  that  one  spot,  he  retired, 
and  his  youngest  son,  George,  was  admitted  to  the  firm,  which 
took  the  name  of  W.  L.  Smith  and  Company. 

Politically,  Mr.  Smith  was  a  Republican,  but  he  never 
engaged  in  strife  for  public  office.    He  was  a  trustee  of  the 


Silas  M.  Smith 


181 


Silas  M.  Smith  183 


State  Hospital  in  Northampton  for  over  twenty-five  years, 
was  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank,  and  held  many 
other  offices  in  corporate  institutions. 

Mr.  Smith  married  Theodosia  Hunt,  daughter  of  Abner 
Hunt,  January  6,  1832.  They  had  four  children  —  Watson 
L.,  George  S.,  Mrs.  William  E.  Wright  of  Springfield,  and  Mrs. 
Edward  S.  Hildreth  of  Boston.  Mrs.  Hildreth  is  the  only  one 
surviving.  Mr.  Smith  died  February  12,  1887,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six. 

Watson,  the  oldest  son,  was  born  in  1834.  Like  his 
father  he  was  a  very  popular  citizen.  For  several  years  he 
served  as  county  treasurer.  He  married  Miss  Eunice  A. 
Brewster,  a  resident  of  Cummington  who  was  of  Mayflower 
lineage.  She  died  in  1904,  and  her  husband  passed  away  in 
1913.  They  had  five  children.  Of  these  the  only  ones  now 
living  are  Mrs.  G.  L.  R.  French  of  Rutland,  Vermont,  and 
Mrs.  Edwin  L.  Harpham  of  Evanston,  Illinois. 

Silas  Smith's  youngest  son,  George,  married  Miss  Annie 
Pratt  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  His  second  wife  was 
Miss  Nellie  Richards,  and  they  had  four  children.  Three  of 
the  children  were  boys,  Raymond,  Harold,  and  Earl.  They 
are  all  now  living.  One  resides  in  St.  Louis,  one  in  Baltimore, 
and  one  in  Northampton.  George  died  in  1913,  and  Mrs. 
Smith  now  makes  her  home  with  her  brother,  George  Sher- 
man Richards,  at  Forest  Hills,  Long  Island. 

But  to  return  to  the  main  subject  of  this  sketch — Silas 
M.  Smith  was  a  man  of  what  might  be  termed  the  old  Amer- 
ican school.  He  had  a  fine  conscientious  character,  sound 
judgment,  and  was  a  person  who  always  stood  ready  to  help 
others.  As  treasurer  of  the  church  poor  fund  he  will  be  long 
remembered  for  the  unnumbered  charitable  deeds  he  per- 
formed, and  he  was  liberal  in  private  benefactions.  Perhaps  the 
following  paragraph  from  a  local  newspaper  best  describes  him: 


184 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


"Mr.  Smith  had  no  political  aspirations.  If  he  had  but 
hinted  a  desire  for  political  promotion  it  would  have  been 
gratified  by  his  townsmen,  who  had  supreme  confidence  in 
his  integrity  and  worth.  He  wisely  chose  the  more  quiet 
and  congenial  walks  of  a  home  life.  His  connection  with  the 
'  Old '  church  has  been  long,  useful,  and  beneficial  to  it.  For 
more  than  forty-five  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  choir  and 
for  a  great  part  of  the  time  its  leader,  all  his  service  in  it  being 
gratuitously  given.  He  had  charge  of  the  distribution  of  the 
church  poor  fund.  In  summing  up  the  traits  in  the  character 
of  Mr.  Smith  we  are  forcibly  reminded  of  the  aptness  of  the 
Scripture  estimate  in  Proverbs:  'Seest  thou  a  man  diligent 
in  his  business?  He  shall  stand  before  kings;  he  shall  not 
stand  before  mean  men.'  " 


Watson  L.  Smith 


185 


CHARLES  G.  STARKWEATHER 

Farmer  and  Pioneer 

CHARLES  GRAVES  STARKWEATHER  was  born 
in  Northampton  March  20,  1819,  on  Old  South 
Street,  in  a  house  very  near  the  Lyman  estate  on 
Fort  Hill.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years  and  three 
months,  June  26,  1906. 

Mr.  Starkweather's  father,  Haynes  Kingsley  Stark- 
weather, was  born  on  South  Street,  at  "  Homestead  Num- 
ber 52."  He  married  Lucina  Almina  Merrick  of  Wilbraham, 
April  30,  1818.    They  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters. 

Haynes'  father  was  Charles  Starkweather,  who  came 
from  Mansfield,  Connecticut,  in  1787.  He  married  Miriam 
Kingsley,  and  they  also  lived  in  the  old  homestead  on  South 
Street.  They  had  five  children,  Haynes  Kingsley  Stark- 
weather, and  four  daughters.  He  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Charles  Graves  Starkweather, 
son  of  Haynes  K.  Starkweather,  was  the  oldest  of  the  family. 
He  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Northampton, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the  oldest  member  of  the 
First  Church,  with  which  he  had  united  in  1834.     Politically 

187 


188  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

he  was  a  Republican,  and  he  had  been  allied  with  that  party 
since  its  formation. 

Mr.  Starkweather's  first  taste  of  adventure  came  in  1849, 
when,  with  a  party  of  twenty-one  others,  he  decided  to  try 
his  fortune  in  the  gold-fields  of  California.  He  was  thence- 
forth known  as  one  of  the  " forty-niners.' ' 

February  5,  on  the  day  the  company  left  the  town,  some 
of  the  citizens  met  at  the  First  Church,  to  give  the  adven- 
turers a  farewell,  with  an  address  by  the  minister,  Rev.  E.  Y. 
Swift.  The  party  sailed  from  New  York  and  landed  at 
Panama,  where  they  remained  for  a  long  time,  unable  to 
obtain  transportation.  As  a  last  resort  they  joined  with 
others  and  bought  a  vessel  en  route  for  California,  and  at 
last  reached  San  Francisco,  their  destination,  August  8,  hav- 
ing been  six  months  on  the  journey. 

After  selling  the  vessel  and  its  cargo,  the  company  sepa- 
rated, and  traveled  the  last  seventy-five  miles  to  the  mining 
regions  by  ox  teams.  Mr.  Starkweather  worked  in  the  mines 
one  year,  when  he  was  joined  by  his  brother  Alfred,  and  they 
turned  their  attention  to  farming.  Haynes  Kingsley,  an- 
other brother,  was  in  the  drug  business  in  Sacramento. 

Charles  and  Alfred  made  a  great  success  of  the  farm  un- 
dertaking, but  after  several  years  the  former  sold  his  interest 
to  his  brother  and  returned  to  his  old  home  on  South  Street 
in  Northampton,  where  his  parents  were  living.  Here  he 
carried  on  farming. 

Soon  after  his  return  he  married  Sophronia  W.  Merrick 
of  Wilbraham.  Of  their  four  children  who  grew  to  maturity, 
the  eldest  is  Charles  Merrick  Starkweather.  On  October  24, 
1904,  he  married  Lucy  Williston,  daughter  of  A.  L.  Williston 
of  Northampton.  They  have  three  children,  a  son,  L.  Wil- 
liston Starkweather;  and  two  daughters,  Sarah  S.  and  Esther 
S.,  who  are  living  in  Hartford,  Connecticut;  Frederick  Mer- 


Charles  G.  Starkweather 


189 


Charles  G.  Starkweather  191 

rick  Starkweather,  the  second  son  of  Charles  G.  Stark- 
weather, married  Mary  Semans  of  Delaware,  Ohio,  daughter 
of  Professor  W.  0.  Semans,  of  Ohio  Wesleyan  University. 
They  live  in  Northampton;  the  other  two  children  of  Charles 
G.  Starkweather  are  Emily  Bliss  Starkweather,  who  married 
David  B.  Howland,  and  Roderick  Merrick  Starkweather. 
Both  live  in  Northampton. 

In  his  day  Mr.  Starkweather  made  some  changes  in  the 
old  home  of  his  birth,  by  the  removal  and  remodeling  of  sev- 
eral buildings.  He  built  a  new  residence  in  the  year  1870, 
and  in  1888  he  sold  the  house  and  lot  to  E.  H.  R.  Lyman. 
Then  he  moved  to  Maple  Street  a  house  which  his  brother, 
Haynes  K.,  had  occupied  before  leaving  a  second  time  for 
California,  and  that  was  his  home  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life. 


ARTHUR  WATSON 

A  Man  of  Many  Public  Trusts 

MR.  WATSON'S  parents  were  Henry  and  Sophia 
(Peck)  Watson,  and  he  was  born  at  Greensboro, 
Alabama,  July  28,  1851.  He  fitted  for  college  at 
Round  Hill  School,  Northampton,  and  graduated  from  Yale 
in  1873. 

Northampton  has  honored  him  in  an  official  way  to  a 
notable  degree,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  following  list  of  the 
various  capacities  in  which  he  has  served  the  municipality. 
In  1884  and  1885  he  was'  Registrar  of  Voters;  from  1885  to 
1887  he  was  Assessor  of  Taxes;  he  was  postmaster  from  1886 
to  1890;  alderman  in  1896;  Referee  in  Bankruptcy  from 
1898  to  1900;  mayor  in  1901;  member  of  the  Public  Library 
Committee  from  1891  to  1916;  and  has  been  a  trustee  of 
the  Forbes'  Library  since  1893. 


^'«F 


192 


Arthur  Watson 


193 


WILLIAM  PHILLIPS  STRICKLAND 

Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  Hampshire  County 

WILLIAM  PHILLIPS  STRICKLAND  was  born  at 
Tyringham  (now  Monterey),  Massachusetts,  Jan- 
uary 12,  1835,  and  died  in  Northampton,  August 
4,  1915.  His  father,  Lemuel  K.  Strickland,  who  moved  from 
Egremont,  to  Sandisfield  in  1840,  died  at  the  latter  place 
in  1860,  aged  fifty-six.  Judge  Strickland's  mother  was 
Emeline,  daughter  of  William  Phillips.  Jonathan  Strickland 
was  his  grandfather  on  the  paternal  side.  The  grandmothers 
were  Elizabeth  Crittenden  (Strickland)  and  Lora  Smith 
(Phillips). 

The  father  was  noted  as  an  upright  lawyer,  and  a  lover 
of  justice.  He  was  highly  respected  by  his  fellow  citizens 
of  Sandisfield,  by  whom  he  was  sent  two  terms  to  represent 
them  in  the  Legislature.  The  family  homestead  in  that  town 
was  occupied  by  five  successive  generations  of  lawyers. 

The  ancestry  of  the  Strickland  family  can  be  traced 
back  many  generations,  but  work  on  the  record  of  it  is  not 
yet  completed.  At  this  time  it  can  be  said  that  the  Strick- 
lands  were  of  English  ancestry,  while  the  Phillips  and  Crit- 
tenden families  came  from  Wales. 

Judge  Strickland's  mother  was  a  cousin  of  Rev.  Edmund 
H.  Sears,  D.D.,  author  of  "The  Fourth  Gospel  the  Heart  of 
Christ,"  and  the  Christmas  hymns,  "Calm  on  the  Listening 
Ear  of  Night"  and  "It  Came  upon  the  Midnight  Clear." 

As  a  boy  William  went  to  the  public  schools  for  a  few 
terms,  and  then  his  father  placed  him  in  charge  of  Rev. 
Piatt  Tyler  Holley,  pastor  of  the  Sandisfield  Congregational 
Church,  and  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  for  further  educa- 
tion.   The  result  was  most  favorable.    The  pupil  read  Virgil 

195 


196  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

with  his  tutor  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  and  showed  marked 
ability  and  perseverance  as  a  student.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that,  in  his  later  years,  he  often  carried  a  Latin  Testament  in 
his  pocket,  when  going  about  the  county  holding  court. 

The  boy  attended  the  Great  Barrington  Academy  and 
Williston  Seminary,  and  afterward  entered  Williams  College 
with  the  class  of  1857.  Although  he  was  compelled  by  ill 
health  to  leave  college  for  a  season,  he  returned  and  de- 
livered the  Latin  oration  in  1858,  when  he  was  awarded  the 
degree  of  A.B.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon 
and  Phi  Beta  Kappa  fraternities. 

His  own  interest  inclined  to  the  study  of  medicine,  but, 
following  the  desire  of  his  father,  he  began  the  work  of  life 
by  reading  law  in  the  office  of  Marshall  Wilcox  of  Lee,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Berkshire  County 
in  1861.  He  practiced  at  Ware,  Massachusetts,  in  the  years 
1861  to  1864.  During  this  period  of  the  Civil  War  he  be- 
came subject  to  the  draft  of  the  national  government  for 
soldiers,  but  was  rejected  on  account  of  physical  disability, 
greatly  to  his  disappointment;  and  he  sent  a  substitute. 

It  was  his  appointment  as  Clerk  of  Courts,  in  1864, 
which  brought  him  to  Northampton.  He  held  the  office  from 
1864  to  1882,  when  he  was  appointed  as  the  first  justice  of 
the  district  court,  which  was  established  that  year.  In  this 
court  he  did  the  most  important  part  of  his  life  work,  although 
it  should  be  mentioned  that  while  clerk  of  courts  he  was  also 
trial  justice,  being  one  of  the  few  men  who  held  a  similar 
office  in  the  state.  Judge  Strickland  also  accomplished  a 
work  which  was  much  appreciated  by  the  Hampshire  bar,  in 
building  up  the  law  library  in  the  court-house.  It  is  now  one 
of  the  best  in  Massachusetts. 

Judge  Strickland  did  not  allow  the  close  duties  of  his 
profession  to  turn  him  from  social  intercourse  with  his  fellow 


Judge  William  P.  Strickland 


197 


William  Phillips  Strickland  199 

citizens.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Northampton 
Club,  and  he  was  a  much  interested  member  and  participant 
in  the  meetings  of  the  Northampton  Literary  Club  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican,  but  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  endorse  the  better  man,  though  not  of 
his  party,  as  when  he  voted  for  President  Cleveland.  In  re- 
ligious belief  he  was  broad  and  liberal,  though  with  a  strong 
leaning  toward  the  Episcopal  Church,  with  which  all  the 
Strickland  ancestors  had  been  affiliated.  But  in  his  boyhood, 
at  Sandisfield,  there  was  only  a  Congregational  Church.  So, 
when  he  came  to  Northampton,  he  united  with  the  First 
Church,  in  which  he  officiated  as  deacon  thirty-seven  years. 

Mr.  Strickland  married,  September  4,  1861,  Mary  A. 
Pelton,  daughter  of  Asa  Carter  Pelton  and  Ophelia  (Austin). 
She  was  a  descendant  from  John  Howland,  who  came  to  this 
country  in  the  famous  Mayflower.  Their  children  numbered 
seven.  A  boy  and  girl  died  in  infancy.  The  second  son, 
Lemuel  Sears,  a  lawyer  of  much  promise,  died  in  1901,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-five.  The  third  son,  George  Hyde,  who  had 
marked  business  ability,  died  in  1909,  aged  forty-three.  The 
children  now  living  are  three  daughters,  Mabel  E.  P.,  Blanche 
L.,  and  Mrs.  E.  Christine  Doane  (Mrs.  Will  Nelson  Doane). 
Judge  and  Mrs.  Strickland  were  given  an  informal  surprise 
party  in  1911  at  their  Round  Hill  home,  in  commemoration 
of  their  golden  wedding  anniversary,  and  this  occasion  brought 
them  the  congratulations  and  good  wishes  of  a  host  of  their 
fellow  citizens. 

In  his  accomplishments  as  an  exponent  of  the  law,  Judge 
Strickland  showed  exceptional  learning,  and  he  has  been 
widely  praised.  The  lawyers  of  Hampshire  are  all  agreed  as 
to  his  fine  ability,  and  they  have  spoken  most  highly  of  his 
admirable  discretion  in  the  disposal  of  cases.  No  man  could 
be  more  conscientious  in  his  decisions.     He  exercised  the 


200  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

utmost  care  in  arriving  at  conclusions,  and  spent  much  time 
in  consulting  legal  decisions  of  the  past.  The  more  puzzling 
the  detail  of  the  case  he  was  investigating  the  more  he  studied 
it,  and  the  most  contradictory  evidence  did  not  daunt  him. 
He  sifted  matters  to  the  bottom,  and  he  rarely  failed  to  ar- 
rive at  a  just  conclusion.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
his  decisions  were  seldom  overruled  by  the  higher  courts. 

His  decisions  were  often  couched  in  terms  that  attracted 
much  attention  from  the  pith  and  point  of  their  expression. 
He  frequently  gave  advice  to  litigants  and  offenders  that  was 
well  worth  heeding,  and  in  some  instances  it  was  heeded  with 
excellent  results.  Many  a  prisoner  brought  before  him  had 
occasion  to  be  thankful  for  the  manner  in  which  the  judge 
treated  him.  He  gave  counsel  that  went  straight  home,  and 
there  were  those  among  the  offenders  whom  it  put  in  the 
way  of  better  living.  He  found  severity  necessary  at  times, 
but  he  was  lenient  and  indulgent  when  he  believed  this  to 
be  of  any  use,  and  he  was  apt  to  give  the  benefit  of  the  doubt 
in  favor  of  a  youthful  offender. 

Judge  Strickland  had  high  ideals  about  the  dignity  of 
the  court  and  evinced  genuine  art  in  the  handling  of  his 
work.  He  loved  wit  and  humor,  and  took  occasion  to  say 
many  bright  things  in  connection  with  the  cases  that  came 
before  him.  He  had  a  wonderful  memory,  a  command  of 
the  best  English  language,  and  his  eulogies  on  the  deaths 
of  those  in  official  positions  are  real  gems. 

The  Springfield  Union,  in  commenting  on  him  shortly 
after  his  death  in  August,  1915,  said : 

Judge  Strickland  was  of  the  old  order  of  things,  eminently 
patriotic,  and  a  lover  of  American  ideals  and  American  institutions. 
Those  who  knew  him  intimately  fully  appreciated  his  fine  qualities. 
He  was  a  man  of  rare  intellectual  attainments,  a  genuine  student, 
informed  on  all  the  leading  questions  of  the  day,  and  when  he  talked 
he  had  something  to  say.     He  commanded  attention  and  when  he 


Judge  Strickland  with  his  Grandson 


201 


William  Phillips  Strickland  203 

expressed  his  views  they  were  listened  to  with  great  interest.  He  was 
a  man  of  wide  vision  and  had  a  rare  grasp  of  situations,  he  had  a  bright 
mind,  and  found  keen  delight  in  the  society  of  men  of  large  mental 
caliber. 

Judge  Strickland's  memory  will  be  held  sacred  in  Northampton. 
He  will  be  looked  upon  as  an  intellectual  leader — the  type  of  a  man 
who  is  fast  disappearing.  His  shrewd  observations,  his  sound  advice, 
his  words  of  wisdom  and  his  keen  wit  will  long  be  remembered. 

When  the  end  finally  came  to  the  venerable  jurist,  he 
was  in  his  eighty-first  year.  It  was  only  on  the  morning  of 
his  last  appearance  for  his  daily  task  at  the  courthouse  that 
friends  commented  on  his  remarkably  favorable  appearance 
as  they  greeted  him,  and  agreed  that  there  were  few  men 
who  bore  the  burden  of  their  years  so  well.  Many  supposed 
him  to  be  ten  years  younger  than  he  actually  was.  To  all 
who  saw  or  spoke  to  him  that  morning  he  appeared  in  his 
usual  health  and  in  one  of  his  frequent  humorous  moods. 
But  when  he  was  walking  back  to  his  Round  Hill  home  his 
strength  forsook  him,  and  he  fell  by  the  wayside. 

Rev.  Irving  Maurer,  who  officiated  at  the  funeral  service, 
spoke  of  the  life  and  work  of  Judge  Strickland  as  follows: 

Judge  Strickland  will  be  remembered  as  a  friend  of  men.  Not 
in  an  effusive,  nor  yet  in  an  exclusive  sense,  was  this  true.  Sitting 
on  the  judge's  seat  for  thirty-three  years,  he  saw  a  generation  of  human 
life  trail  its  little  sorrows  and  its  deeper  tragedies  along  the  way.  The 
truant  boy,  the  drunkard,  the  outcast,  the  widow,  the  orphan,  the 
shiftless,  the  sinful,  the  lonely,  and  the  discouraged,  all  beat  against 
his  heart. 

The  impression  which  he  leaves  is  one  of  personal  interest  in  the 
problems  of  human  need.  The  old,  old  story  of  individual  sin  and 
shame  did  not  dim  the  keenness  of  his  regard  for  the  single  example 
of  the  case  before  him.  And  the  numberless  personalities  who  looked 
at  his  searching  eyes  from  the  standpoint  of  the  guilty  passed  out  of 
his  courtroom  knowing  that  he  was  right,  but  that  he  was  also  con- 
cerned in  them  as  persons. 

This  constant  realization  within  his  cultured  soul,  that  law  is  a 
path  running  through  human  relationships,  that  crime  and  penalty 
have  the  spiritual  significance  of  humanity,  struggling  and  winning 
and  losing,  was  what  made  Judge  Strickland  a  magnifier  of  his  office. 


204  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Take  a  personality  gifted  with  the  powers  of  penetration  and  analysis, 
with  deep  interest  in  the  philosophy  of  human  good  and  evil,  with 
insight  into  the  fact  of  sin,  make  that  personality  the  mouth-piece  of 
the  public  law,  and  the  well-being  of  the  community  prospers  and  bears 
fruit. 

In  these  days  of  unrest,  when  law  itself  appears  to  many  as  hazy 
and  unmajestic,  when  it  is  easy  for  gifted  men  in  places  of  leadership, 
instead  of  voicing  the  prophet's  message,  to  speak  the  half-formed 
thoughts  of  the  ignorant  and  the  misled,  we  have  need  of  men  like  this 
man,  one  who  knew  when  men  and  women  sinned,  who  believed  that 
social  wrong,  crime,  must  be  punished,  and  yet  who  maintained  in 
the  hour  of  penalty  the  role  of  a  friendly  heart,  seeking  even  in  the 
depths  of  shame  for  better  things. 

A  few  who  knew  Judge  Strickland  in  a  more  intimate  way  will 
miss  a  rare  soul,  a  splendid  type  of  the  men  that  the  Berkshires  have 
reared.  His  home,  which  was  founded  just  a  month  less  than  fifty- 
four  years  ago,  will  cherish  him  for  his  great  heart.  His  church  will 
recall  him  as  a  layman  gifted  with  the  powers  of  priestly  ministry. 
His  city  will  honor  him  for  his  public  spirit.  But  for  the  community 
at  large  his  name  will  stand  as  the  name  of  a  man  who  was  a  just  judge, 
a  judge  of  the  poor  and  the  needy,  a  friend  of  men. 

No  better  estimate  of  Judge  Strickland's  general  char- 
acter and  his  services  to  the  public  could  be  found  than  is 
expressed  in  the  following  resolutions  passed  by  the  church 
society  he  loved  so  well,  and  the  two  institutions  which  he 
served  so  faithfully  as  trustee: 

Memorial  of  the  First  Church  of  Christ,  Congregational 

William  Phillips  Strickland  at  his  death  on  August  fourth  was 
the  senior  deacon  of  this  church  and  one  of  its  most  highly  esteemed 
and  influential  members.  He  joined  it  by  letter  in  1865,  was  elected 
deacon  in  1878,  and  during  the  fifty  years  of  his  connection  with  it, 
he  never  ceased  to  give  it  the  benefit  of  his  counsel  and  of  his  active 
cooperation  in  everything  that  would  increase  its  power. 

As  justice  of  the  district  court  for  thirty- three  years  he  became 
familiar  with  the  worst  forms  of  human  depravity,  but  this  knowledge 
of  evil  did  not  lessen  his  faith  in  the  saving  power  of  Jesus  Christ;  — 
and  in  the  administration  of  justice  Judge  Strickland  never  lost  sight 
of  the  reformation  of  the  criminal. 

Whether  as  public  official  or  private  citizen,  he  was  respected 
and  beloved  for  his  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty  and  for  his 
unremitting  efforts  to  promote  whatsoever  is  just  and  pure  and  good. 


William  Phillips  Strickland  205 

His  associates  on  the  Church  Committee  would  therefore  place 
upon  their  records  this  memorial  of  their  grateful  appreciation  of  his 
Christian  character  and  of  the  long  and  invaluable  service  which  he 
rendered  to  this  Church  and  to  this  community. 

Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Corporators  of  the 
Clarke  School  for  the  Deaf: 

Resolved:  That  the  Corporation  of  the  Clarke  School,  in  common 
with  their  fellow-members  of  the  community,  heard  with  sorrow  of 
the  unexpected  and  sudden  death  of  their  associate,  Judge  Strickland, 
who,  for  more  than  thirty  years,  had  been  a  punctual  and  valued 
member  of  our  Corporation,  and  held  therein  important  and  honorable 
offices. 

Judge  Strickland  had  the  qualities  and  the  training  that  fitted 
him  to  be  the  faithful  and  efficient  public  servant  that  he  had  been 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  in  this  city  and  county.  Of  exact  legal 
learning  and  a  strong  sense  of  justice  tempered  with  mercy,  he  dealt 
for  a  whole  generation  with  that  section  of  the  community  which  most 
frequently  calls  for  justice  and  for  charity;  and  he  knew  well  the  limit 
of  those  two  virtues,  as  they  appealed  to  him  in  his  daily  practice. 
Long  intimacy  with  the  delinquent,  the  defective,  and  the  unfortunate 
sometimes  may  harden  the  heart,  or  lead  to  indifference  towards 
human  frailty,  vice  or  misfortune;  but  with  virtuous  natures  an 
opposite  effect  is  perceived  and  was  noticeable  in  our  friend's  instance. 

No  repetition  of  the  old  and  sad  circumstances  closed  his  eyes  to 
the  features  of  each  case  as  it  came  before  him  as  judge  or  in  his  other 
capacities.  An  English  poet  paid  to  his  political  and  religious  opponent 
the  highest  tribute  a  judge  can  receive: 

In  Israel's  court  ne'er  sat  an  Abethdin 
Of  more  discerning  eyes,  or  hand  more  clean 
Unbribed,  unsought,  the  wretched  to  redress, 
Prompt  of  dispatch  and  easy  of  access. 

In  the  management  of  the  business  of  the  Clarke  School,  Judge 
Strickland  was  serviceable  from  his  great  legal  knowledge,  his  expe- 
rience of  many  years,  and  his  close  attention  to  financial  details  which 
gained  and  held  for  him  the  office  of  auditor.  To  his  family  we  tender 
our  warmest  sympathies,  and  we  join  with  all  others  in  this  tribute 
to  his  character. 

Resolutions  of  the  Public  Library  Committee 

The  resignation  of  Judge  William  P.  Strickland  from  the  office 
of  chairman  of  the  Northampton  Public  Library  Committee,  tendered 
at  the  meeting  held  on  March  11  last,  was  accepted  with  great 
reluctance. 


206  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Hoping  that  he  might  be  persuaded  to  continue  his  service  in 
that  capacity,  it  was  only  after  being  fully  convinced  that  such  hope 
was  vain  that  we  bowed  to  the  inevitable. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  retirement  from  the  chairmanship  of  the 
committee  of  one  who  has  so  long  and  ably  filled  that  position,  his 
associates  desire  to  record  the  following  expression  of  their  apprecia- 
tion and  esteem: 

Resolved:  That  the  term  of  service  of  Judge  William  P.  Strick- 
land, as  chairman  of  the  Northampton  Public  Library  Committee  for 
thirty-one  consecutive  years,  and  for  more  than  half  the  entire  period 
since  the  library  became  a  municipal  institution,  is  in  itself  a  significant 
tribute  to  his  efficiency  and  an  indication  of  the  high  regard  in  which 
he  is  held  by  the  people  of  Northampton.  With  him  at  the  helm  they 
have  felt  that  our  library  administration  was  in  safe  hands. 

Resolved:  That  Judge  Strickland  is  by  nature,  education  and 
habit  of  mind,  exceptionally  qualified  for  the  position  he  has  so  long 
adorned.  A  lover  of  books,  a  wide  and  discriminating  reader,  a  sound 
and  clear  thinker,  of  critical,  yet  catholic  tastes,  and  with  a  full  appre- 
ciation of  the  uses  and  needs  to  which  a  public  library  should  be 
adapted,  his  work  as  chairman  has  been  thorough,  painstaking,  un- 
ceasing and  effective. 

Up  to  a  time  within  the  recollection  of  many  the  "Clarke  Library  " 
occupied  an  exclusive  field  as  our  only  public  library. 

Closely  in  touch  with  the  intellectual  life  of  the  people  of  North- 
ampton, its  influence  has  been  salutary  and  its  usefulness  unques- 
tioned. The  good  it  has  done  is  immeasurable,  for  no  limits  can  be  set 
to  the  radiance  of  knowledge  as  reflected  by  its  dispersion  through  books. 

Resolved:  That  Judge  Strickland  has  brought  to  his  work  on 
the  Committee  during  all  these  years,  qualities  which  are  the  endow- 
ment of  but  few  men.  An  understanding  of  the  first  rank,  a  penetrat- 
ing intelligence  disciplined  by  the  training  and  study  of  college  days, 
and  by  long  experience  as  a  judge  on  the  bench,  great  power  of  analysis 
and  of  precise  and  luminous  statement,  his  reports  to  the  City  Council 
are  models  of  concise  and  felicitous  diction,  and  form  the  most  generic 
annual  summary  of  the  "Clarke  Library"  that  can  anywhere  be  found. 
They  abound  in  apt,  suggestive  and  profound  reflections  upon  matters 
and  things  pertaining  to  the  inner  history  of  the  library  and  its  ad- 
ministration. 

The  description  of  the  functions  of  a  public  library  in  his  report 
for  1912  appeals  to  us  as  comprehensive  in  substance  and  admirable 
in  form  and  phrase.  Though  not  trained  as  a  librarian,  nor  professing 
to  be  a  specialist  in  that  art  to  which  many  superior  men  are  devoting 
their  lives,  Judge  Strickland  has,  nevertheless,  brought  into  our  service 
a  culture  as  broad  and  rich  as  it  is  rare  and  difficult  of  attainment. 

In  intellectual  breadth  and  acumen,  in  lucidity  of  thought  and 
in  clarity  and  elegance  of  statement,  in  the  ability  to  present  the  nicest 


William  Phillips  Strickland  207 

distinctions  in  terse  and  simple  form  and  in  easy  command  of  choice 
and  vigorous  English,  he  impresses  us  as  among  the  first  in  this  com- 
munity within  our  memory. 

Judge  Strickland  is  the  possessor  of  literary  gifts  which,  had  he 
not  sedulously  kept  them  in  the  shade  and  subservient  to  the  routine 
of  daily  utilities,  might  have  proved  a  source  of  instruction  and  pleasure 
to  us  all. 

Resolved:  That  whatever  may  be  the  future  of  the  "Clarke 
Library,"  its  past  is  secure. 

Its  aims  have  been  high,  its  purpose  broad  and  ennobling,  and 
its  work  in  this  community  deep  and  abiding.  Shining  in  common 
for  us  all  it  has  not  been  commonplace. 

The  ancient  library  at  Thebes  is  said  to  have  borne  on  its  portals 
the  inscription:  "Place  of  healing  for  the  soul."  Once  our  library 
was  the  Mecca  for  all  the  intellectually  devOut  who  desired  to  worship 
at  its  shrine  and  be  healed  of  the  ills  of  narrowness  and  intolerance 
and  of  the  sins  of  mental  apathy  and  indifference. 

In  all  its  history  the  " Clarke  Library"  has  been  a  central  influence 
for  good  in  this  community,  and  much  of  its  usefulness  and  success 
is  due  to  those  who  for  more  than  forty  years  have  guided  its  destinies 
and  shaped  its  ends.  The  interests  of  all  the  inhabitants  have  always 
been  its  interests,  and  the  promotion  of  knowledge,  culture  and  civic 
righteousness  its  aim. 

Judge  Strickland  has  maintained  the  prestige  and  high  standard 
of  the  past  and  has  proved  himself  a  worthy  successor  to  the  men  who 
in  a  former  generation  laid  the  broad  foundations  of  the  "Clarke 
Library"  deep  in  the  solid  basis  of  truth. 

We  trust  it  will  not  be  unpleasing  to  him  to  call  to  mind  faces 
and  voices  once  so  familiar,  but  no  longer  to  be  seen  or  heard,  and  to 
wander  in  imagination  in  "other  groves,  and  other  streams  along." 

Surely  he  will  find  new  inspiration  and  new  delight  in  the  high 
ideals  and  noble  culture  which  he  so  finely  represents  and  which  he 
has  done  so  much  to  maintain  and  preserve. 

Resolved :  That  we  count  ourselves  fortunate  that,  though  vacat- 
ing the  office  of  chairman,  Judge  Strickland  will  not  thereby  cease 
to  be  a  member  of  this  committee,  and  that  we  still  expect  to  receive 
the  benefit  of  his  wise  and  timely  counsels  and  assistance. 

Again,  the  following  year,  the  library  trustees  put  on 
record  this  tribute  to  Judge  Strickland's  memory: 

To  Judge  Strickland  the  end  came  suddenly  on  the  fourth  of 
August  last.  Apparently  in  his  usual  good  health  and  vigor,  the  sum- 
mons came  on  the  instant  and  he  was  no  longer  of  the  living. 

Upon  his  resignation  as  chairman  of  the  Clarke  Library  Com- 
mittee, we  took  occasion  to  express  our  sense  of  his  merits  and  service 


208  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

in  resolutions,  which  were  subsequently  made  public  as  a  part  of  our 
report  to  the  City  Council  for  year  1914. 

To  give  any  adequate  comment  on  other  phases  of  Judge  Strick- 
land's career  would  not  be  expected  perhaps  in  this  report,  yet  we  may 
be  pardoned  a  brief  reference  to  his  professional  career. 

Judge  Strickland  was  appointed  Clerk  of  the  Superior  and  Su- 
preme Courts  in  1864  and  remained  such  until  he  took  his  seat  as 
Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  Hampshire  in  1882.  During  this  interval 
he  held  the  office  of  trial  justice  and  acted  also  extensively  as  master 
and  auditor  in  cases.  Eminent  lawyers  tried  many  causes  before  him 
and  his  training  as  a  judge  was  under  fire.  He  met  the  test  well.  Pains- 
taking study  of  the  law,  close  attention  to  the  facts  and  careful  analysis 
of  evidence  were  with  him  in  each  case  an  undeviating  habit.  His 
mental  powers  and  range  were  such  that  acute,  ingenious,  and  forceful, 
often  profound  arguments  and  suggestions  of  counsel  became  aids  to 
him  in  reaching  a  conclusion,  but  did  not  usurp  the  functions  of  his 
own  judgment.    His  decisions  were  his  own. 

Indeed  long  before  he  was  judge  in  name  he  manifested  the 
knowledge  and  qualities  which  fitted  him  for  that  office  and  many  of 
the  ablest  lawyers  of  those  days  regarded  him  as  well  qualified  to  sit 
as  a  judge  in  any  court  of  the  commonwealth. 

It  is  certain  that  his  work  as  Judge  of  the  District  Court  gave 
it  a  high  position  among  the  local  courts  of  the  state  and  reflected 
honor  upon  him,  his  city  and  his  county.  For  more  than  a  generation 
his  biography  has  been  synonymous  with  the  judicial  history  of  the 
main  part  of  the  County  of  Hampshire. 

It  is  possible  that  Judge  Strickland  considered  the  termination 
of  his  chairmanship  of  the  Library  Committee  as  a  prelude  to  the 
final  severing  of  all  relations  with  it,  and  even  with  the  scene  of  life 
itself.  Although  his  work  in  the  court  showed  no  diminution  in  acumen 
or  zeal,  yet  his  eighty  years  could  not  be  disregarded  by  a  man  of  his 
clear  discernment  and  candid  attitude  towards  facts.  Therefore  it 
may  be  perhaps  assumed  that  his  renouncement  of  further  continu- 
ance in  this  office  was  anticipatory  of  what  he  thought  likely  in  the 
nature  of  things  to  happen  within  a  time  not  long  distant. 

Judge  Strickland  had  for  the  Clarke  Library  deep  and  personal 
affection  and  was  as  solicitous  for  its  welfare  as  a  father  for  that  of 
his  child.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  he  continued  for  more  than  a 
year  after  his  resignation  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  affiliations  with  the 
library  and  its  management  and  that  his  ceasing  to  be  our  chairman 
marked  no  other  than  a  nominal  change  in  his  activities  in  its  affairs, 
nor  any  severing  of  the  ties  which  so  strongly  bound  him  to  its  service. 


CHARLES  N.  CLARK 

A  People's  Representative  and  Financier 

CHARLES  N.  CLARK  is  descended  from  the  Clark 
family  of  England,  where  it  is  both  numerous  and  of 
great  antiquity.  The  name  designated  one  who  could 
read  and  write  in  the  almost  medieval  early  times.  It  was 
then  often  the  surname  Clarke,  Clerke,  and  Clearke,  of  such 
persons,  but  particularly  of  those  recording  and  preserving 
deeds. 

The  family,  in  this  country,  is  descended  from  four 
brothers,  John,  Joseph,  Thomas,  and  Carew  Clark,  who  came 
to  America  from  Bedfordshire,  England,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Thomas  had  many  illustrious 
descendants,  including  Alvan  Clark  and  his  son  Alvin  Graham 
Clark,  both  of  telescope  manufacturing  fame;  George  Bassett 
Clark,  a  famous  mechanician;  James  Freeman  Clarke,  the 
well-known  clergyman,  author  and  anti-slavery  advocate;  and 
others  quite  prominent  in  professional  and  political  life,  too 
numerous  to  mention. 

William  Clark  (1609-1690)  is  the  progenitor  of  nearly 
all  the  Clarks  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  He  was 
born   in    Dorsetshire,   England,   in   1609,   and   sailed   from 

209 


210  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Plymouth  to  this  country  in  the  ship  Mary  and  John  March 
30,  1630.  The  ship  arrived  at  Nantucket  May  30.  Three 
other  members  of  the  Clark  family  were  in  the  company  — 
Bray,  Thomas  and  Joseph,  who,  with  William,  were  among 
the  first  settlers  of  Dorchester.  Their  memory  is  preserved 
by  the  following  lines  on  their  tombstones:  "Here  lie  three 
clerks.  Their  accounts  are  even,  entered  on  earth,  carried 
to  heaven." 

William  Clark  continued  for  a  long  time  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Dorchester,  but,  in  1653,  he  was  one  of  the  peti- 
tioners to  the  Great  and  General  Court  for  permission  to 
settle  in  the  "new  country"  of  the  Connecticut  valley,  and 
he  removed  his  family  on  horseback  to  Northampton  in 
1659,  through  the  forests  which  had  then  but  one  solitary 
trail  east  and  west.  The  wife  with  three  children  rode  on 
two  panniers,  and  the  husband,  then  fifty-three  years  of  age, 
preceded  her  on  foot,  picking  out  the  trail  through  the  woods. 
William  Clark  had  been  named  by  Eleazar  Mather,  who  was 
preacher  at  Northampton,  and  son  of  Richard  Mather,  the 
settled  minister  at  Dorchester,  as  a  proper  person  to  receive 
a  grant  of  land  if  he  would  come  and  live  in  the  town.  The 
story  of  his  settlement  on  Elm  Street  together  with  many 
interesting  incidents  in  his  life  at  Northampton  may  be  found 
in  Sylvester  Judd's  writings  and  in  James  R.  Trumbull's 
"History  of  Northampton." 

Charles  Nathaniel  Clark  is  the  second  son,  and  the  third 
and  youngest  child  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Strong)  Clark. 
The  union  of  these  two  old  families  (Clark  and  Strong)  was 
considered  at  the  time  interesting  from  the  fact  that  the 
appearance  of  both  of  them  in  Northampton  was  contem- 
poraneous with  its  settlement;  and  the  identity  of  interests 
so  established  has  been  perpetuated  even  to  this  day  in  their 
descendants. 


Charles  N.  Clark 


211 


Charles  N.  Clark  213 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on  his  father's  farm 
on  South  Street  April  4,  1853.  He  attended  the  common 
schools  and  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  1869,  from 
Amherst  College  in  1873  with  the  degree  of  A.B.,  and  was 
given  the  degree  of  A.M.  in  1876.  After  graduation  he 
taught  one  year  in  the  Free  High  School  of  Brimfield.  Then 
he  began  the  study  of  law  with  Delano  and  Hammond  in 
Northampton.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1877,  and  to 
the  practice  of  law  in  all  the  courts  in  1880.  He  opened  a 
law  office  in  Northampton  and  soon  gained  an  extensive 
practice  in  all  the  courts  of  the  state  and  of  the  United  States 
district  and  supreme  courts. 

His  general  ability  and  business  sagacity,  however,  re- 
sulted in  calls  outside  the  profession,  and  he  was  made  treas- 
urer of  Smith  College  in  1888,  and  has  since  been  actively 
identified  with  the  financial  and  general  material  progress  of 
that  institution.  He  was  made  a  director  of  the  Hampshire 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  was  chosen  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Northampton  Institution  for  Savings,  and 
President  of  the  Northampton  Gas  Lighting  Company. 

In  religious  matters  Mr.  Clark  naturally  followed  the 
professions  of  his  forefathers  and  found  his  expression  therein 
in  the  "Old"  First  Church  of  the  town.  In  this  church  he 
has  been  a  prominent  member,  and  one  of  the  board  of  as- 
sessors of  the  parish. 

While  not  actively  interested  in  politics,  he  has  obeyed 
the  call  of  his  party  constituency  (Republican)  and  his  nomi- 
nation by  it  and  confirmation  by  vote  of  the  people  followed. 
He  was  called  to  represent  the  First  District  of  Hampshire 
County  in  the  Legislature  of  1883-4-5  and  was  a  State  Sen- 
ator in  1887  and  1888.  He  served  on  several  committees, 
including  those  of  the  Hoosac  Tunnel,  Troy  and  Greenfield 
Railroad,  claims,  judiciary,  public  service,  and  mercantile 


214 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


affairs;  and  his  record  as  a  legislator  was  approved  by  his 
constituents,  as  shown  by  comments  in  the  public  press  of  his 
native  town,  during  his  incumbency. 

Mr.  Clark  has  never  married.    He  now  gives  his  time 
almost  entirely  to  the  interests  of  Smith  College. 


MERRITT  CLARK 

Veteran  Merchant 

AN  interesting  review  of  Northampton  history  for 
nearly  a  century  might  appropriately  accompany  any 
story  of  the  life  of  Merritt  Clark.  He  is  the  city's 
oldest  merchant  and  yet,  withal,  at  the  time  of  this  writ- 
ing, one  of  the  youngest  in  spirit  and  mental  energy. 

Mr.  Clark  has  spent  his  winters  in  Florida  for  many 
years,  and  he  always  goes  and  comes  in  cheerful  spirits. 
When  he  arrived  home  from  one  of  his  trips  a  while  ago,  he 
said:  "I  am  thankful  that  I  am  privileged  to  live  in  so  good 
a  community  as  Northampton.  Some  people  do  not  seem  to 
appreciate  the  place,  but  to  me  the  city  is  ideal,  and  the 
greatest  pleasure  I  have  is  to  return  each  spring  from  the 
South  and,  with  a  handshake,  to  have  friends  tell  me  that 
they  are  glad  to  see  me  back  again.  This  Connecticut 
valley,  especially  between  Hartford  and  Brattleboro,  with 
all  the  privileges  and  .opportunities  which  the  inhabitants 
may  avail  themselves  of,  is  certainly  the  height  of  civili- 
zation." 

Mr.  Clark  may  properly  be  called  the  dean  of  North- 
ampton Main  Street  merchants,  for  he  has  been  in  business 
on  what  was  once  called  "Shop  Row,"  as  clerk  and  proprie- 

215 


216  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

tor,  for  over  seventy  years.  He  is  still  interested  in  the  busi- 
ness, and,  when  in  Northampton,  he  is  seen  at  the  old  stand 
almost  every  day  in  the  morning  hours.  The  rest  of  the  day 
he  is  generally  at  his  residence  on  Elm  Street.  His  home 
there  is  one  of  the  landmarks  of  the  city.  It  was  built  long 
ago,  and  was  once  occupied  for  several  years  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Silsbee,  the  minister  of  the  Unitarian  church.  When  the 
writer  called  on  Mr.  Clark  recently,  he  found  him  very  much 
interested  in  the  then  current  talk  all  over  the  country, 
about  "preparedness."  To  him  it  recalled  his  early  days 
when,  being  an  earnest  advocate  of  a  local  militia  company, 
he  was  many  times  ridiculed  for  favoring  such  an  institu- 
tion. But  he  lived  to  be  commended  by  those  who  at  first 
condemned  him,  and  it  was  not  long  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War  that  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens, 
who  had  once  laughed  at  his  concern  for  the  militia,  took 
occasion  to  thank  him  for  what  he  had  done  and  declare 
that  he  had  more  foresight  and  wisdom  than  most  men  of 
his  time.  So,  for  the  present  generation,  Mr.  Clark  shows 
just  as  much  interest  in  this  line  as  of  old,  and  with  a  kindling 
eye  he  has  lately  again  declared  "preparedness"  to  be  the 
thing  necessary. 

Merritt  Clark  is  a  native  of  Milford,  Connecticut,  where 
he  was  born  November  7,  1829.  He  can  trace  his  ancestry 
back  to  the  year  1610.  "Deacon"  George  Clark,  settler  and 
planter,  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Milford,  Connecti- 
cut, in  1639.  He  had  stopped  for  a  short  time  with  the 
pioneers  at  Wethersfield,  before  going  to  Milford.  He  was 
born  in  England  in  1610,  and  died  in  Milford  in  1690.  This 
George  Clark  was  the  first  settler  to  establish  his  home  out- 
side of  the  stockade  at  Milford,  and  he  received  for  his  courage 
a  grant  of  forty  acres  of  land,  which  he  and  his  sons  began 
to  cultivate. 


Merritt  Clark  at  Home 


217 


The  Merrill  Clark  Homestead 

Corner  of  Elm  Street  and  Round  Hill  Road 


219 


Merritt  Clark  221 


David  Clark,  who  was  born  in  1751,  and  died  July  17, 
1831,  was  grandfather  of  Merritt  Clark,  and  Anna  Clark,  who 
was  born  in  1755,  and  died  February  14,  1812,  was  his  grand- 
mother. Mr.  Clark's  father  was  Enoch  Clark,  a  farmer, 
whose  marked  characteristics  were  common  sense  and  an 
even  temperament.  Enoch  Clark  married  Mehitable  Bald- 
win of  Milford,  Connecticut,  and  from  these  parents  of  New 
England  thrift  and  energy  Merritt  Clark  undoubtedly  largely 
drew  those  qualities  and  characteristics  which  enabled  him 
to  make  a  success  in  life. 

The  boy  Merritt  had  only  a  common  school  education. 
He  made  things  lively  on  his  father's  farm  until,  in  1846,  at 
seventeen  years  of  age,  he  came  to  Northampton.  Here  he 
began  to  learn  tailoring  with  Charles  Smith  and  Company, 
tailors,  on  the  very  spot  where  the  present  firm  of  Merritt 
Clark  and  Company  have  their  large  and  well  arranged  es- 
tablishment. In  1852  Mr.  Clark  bought  out  the  interest 
which  Marvin  M.  French  had  in  the  firm,  and  the  new  firm 
consisted  of  Charles  Smith  and  Merritt  Clark.  J.  H.  Prindle, 
a  clerk  in  the  Smith  and  Clark  store,  came  into  the  firm  in 
1854,  and  the  new  firm  was  Smith,  Clark,  and  Prindle,  but 
this  business  name  lasted  only  about  two  years,  when  Mr. 
Smith  withdrew.  A  short  time  later  Mr.  Clark  bought  out 
Mr.  Prindle's  interest,  and  for  ten  years  he  conducted  the 
business  alone.  His  nephew,  Orman  S.  Clark,  who  previ- 
ously had  been  employed  as  a  clerk,  was  taken  into  the  firm 
in  1866.  After  Orman's  death  in  1891,  Orman's  son,  Howard, 
who  had  been  trained  in  the  business,  took  his  place  and 
shortly  afterward  came  to  full  charge  of  the  concern.  This 
permitted  the  founder  of  the  house  to  retire  from  active  busi- 
ness about  twelve  years  ago.  Since  then  Mr.  Clark  has  spent 
his  winters  at  Tarpon  Springs,  Florida.  Besides  his  clothing 
business,  Mr.  Clark  holds  considerable  real  estate  in  the  city. 


222  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

He  is  the  oldest  business  man  on  Main  Street  and 
probably  the  oldest  in  the  county.  He  has  always  taken  a 
keen  interest  in  Northampton  affairs  and  enterprises,  and  in 
those  of  the  state  and  nation-.  For  ten  or  twelve  years  he 
was  in  the  state  militia,  Lieutenant  of  Company  C  of  the 
10th  regiment,  and  prior  to  the  Civil  War  he  aided  in  drilling 
the  company  and  often  visiting  West  Point  to  obtain  in- 
struction in  military  tactics.  In  politics  he  is  of  the  Demo- 
cratic faith.  He  has  never  professed  his  belief  in  any  par- 
ticular religious  creed,  but  he  attends  the  First  Church.  He 
held  several  offices  with  the  fire  department  when  the  old 
"Torrent"  was  queen  of  the  waters.  This  and  the  "Deluge" 
were  then  the  only  Northampton  fire  extinguishers,  except 
wooden  hand  buckets,  owned  by  the  town.  He  was  foreman 
of  the  "Torrent"  in  its  palmiest  days.  At  one  time  he  was 
an  overseer  of  the  House  of  Correction  with  the  late  Daniel 
Kingsley.  He  was  a  director  of  the  Hampshire  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company  fifteen  or  sixteen  years,  trustee  of  the 
Northampton  Institution  for  Savings  about  the  same  length 
of  time  and  was  for  several  years  a  director  of  the  Hampshire 
County  National  Bank.  He  has  been  considered  one  of  the 
safest  and  soundest  of  our  business  men.  Withal  he  is  a 
man  of  wide  information,  being  a  keen  observer  of  men 
and  things,  and  at  one  time  he  traveled  extensively  in  Mexico 
and  Europe. 

When  asked  if  he  could  give  any  suggestion  from  his  expe- 
rience that  would  be  useful  to  young  men,  he  replied:  "Be 
honest,  be  truthful,  be  industrious  and  persevering." 

March  16,  1859,  Mr.  Clark  married  Sarah  Josephine 
King,  daughter  of  Elisha  W.  King  and  Margaret  Vander- 
voort.  Mr.  King  was  an  eminent  member  of  the  New  York 
bar,  and  grandson  of  John  King  who  emigrated  from  Eng- 
land to  Salem  in  1650,  whence  he  moved  to  Southampton, 


Sideboard  and  Collections  at  Merrill  Clark's  Home 

The  mirror  above  the  sideboard  came  originally  from  the  house  of  General  Joseph  Hooker.     The  castor 
in  the  center  of  the  sideboard  formerly  belonged  to  Governor  Caleb  Strong. 


223 


A  plate  and  teapot  of  old  English  ware 


A  Chinese  tea  caddie  and  a  cup  and  teapot  of  old  English  spode 

Valuable  Tableware  in  the  Merritt  Clark  Collection 


225 


Merritt  Clark 


227 


Long  Island,  in  1654.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  had  no  children. 
She  died  July  12,  1909.  Since  her  death,  Mr.  Clark's  niece, 
Miss  Minnie  D.  Clark,  has  been  his  constant  companion, 
both  in  his  Northampton  home  and  on  his  journeys  South. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  his  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Nancy  M. 
Clark. 


HAYNES  HANFORD  CHILSON 

An  Old-time  Citizen,  Honored  by  Many  Public  Trusts 

HAYNES  HANFORD  CHILSON,  son  of  John  and 
Clarissa  (Butler)  of  Buckland,  Massachusetts,  was 
born  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Charlemont, 
April  11,  1816.  He  fitted  for  college  in  Conway,  and  in  the 
high  school  at  Halifax,  Vermont,  and  in  Fellenberg  Academy 
at  Greenfield,  Massachusetts. 

In  1843  he  graduated  at  Amherst  College,  and  for  a  time 
was  principal  of  Grove  Seminary  at  Charlemont,  and  later 
held  a  similar  position  in  the  academy  at  Whitingham, 
Vermont. 

He  became  a  law  student  in  the  office  of  Grinnell  and 
Aiken,  of  Greenfield,  in  1846,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  the 
following  year,  and  began  practice  in  Northampton. 

From  1850  to  1852  he  was  one  of  the  Hampshire  County 
Commissioners,  and  he  was  Commissioner  of  Insolvency  from 
1851  to  1856.  For  more  than  a  score  of  years,  beginning 
in  1850,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Northampton  School 
Committee. 

In  1851  Mr.  Chilson  was  commissioned  Major  of  the 
Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia.  He  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Congress  here  in  1857.  From  1858  to  1862  he 
served  Northampton  as  postmaster,  and  from  the  latter  year 
to  1871  he  was  assistant  assessor  of  internal  revenue.    In  the 

228 


Haynes  H.  Chilson 


229 


Haynes  Hartford  Chilson 


231 


years  from  1875  to  1882  he  was  a  trial  justice.    He  also  served 
the  public  as  a  trustee  under  the  will  of  Whiting  Street. 

In  1851  Mr.  Chilson  married  Catherine  Staples  Bates  of 
Northampton.  Two  sons  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chilson 
— Henshaw  Bates  of  New  York,  and  Haynes  Hanford,  Jr., 
of  Northampton.    Mr.  Chilson  died  July  10,  1886. 


HAYNES  HANFORD  CHILSON,  JR. 

Clerk  of  the  Courts 

HAYNES  HANFORD  CHILSON,  Jr.,  was  descended, 
on  his  mother's  side,  from  Lieutenant  Jonathan 
Hunt.  The  latter's  son,  John  Hunt,  was  the  father 
of  Martha  Hunt,  who  married  Samuel  Henshaw,  and  the 
Henshaws'  daughter,  Martha,  became  the  wife  of  Isaac 
Chapman  Bates.  Mr.  Bates'  daughter,  Catherine  Staples 
Bates,  who  was  born  November  25,  1815,  and  who  died 
November  24,  1892,  married  Haynes  Hanford  Chilson. 

The  residence  of  the  Hunts  and  the  Henshaws  was  the 
gambrel-roofed  house  on  Elm  Street,  now  standing  between 
Henshaw  Avenue  and  Round  Hill.  It  was  built  by  Jonathan 
Hunt  in  1700,  and  was  bequeathed  by  will  to  his  son  John. 

Samuel  Henshaw  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  the 
class  of  1773.  He  became  a  judge  in  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  and  he  served  as  a  trustee  of  Williams  College  from 
1802  to  1809. 

Isaac  Chapman  Bates  was  the  son  of  Colonel  Jacob 
Bates,  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Twentieth  Congress,  and  of  the  three  succeeding 
congresses.  In  1841  he  became  a  United  States  senator,  and 
he  died  in  1845,  during  his  second  term  in  the  Senate. 

Haynes  Hanford  Chilson,  Jr.,  graduated  from  the  Ncrth- 
ampton  High  School  in  1876.  Two  years  later  he  entered 
Williams  College  and  pursued  his  studies  there  until  1880. 
While  in  college  he  became  a  member  of  the  Kappa-Alpha 

232 


Haynes  H.  Chilson,  Jr. 


233 


Haynes  Hanford  Chilson,  Jr. 


235 


Society.  Soon  after  leaving  Williams  he  went  abroad  and 
was  a  student  in  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music  in  London. 

Mr.  Chilson  married  Kate  Phillips  Blake,  of  Boston,  a 
descendant  of  William  Blake,  of  Dorchester. 

From  1883  to  1904  Mr.  Chilson  was  clerk  of  the  District 
Court  of  Hampshire.  After  1904  he  succeeded  to  the  office 
of  clerk  of  the  courts,  which  office  he  holds  at  the  present 
time.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  in  1887 
and  1888,  and  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  in  1889  and  1890. 
He  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Forbes  Library  since  1898.  He 
is  an  honorary  member  of  the  Association  of  Police  District 
and  Municipal  Courts.  From  the  year  1903  he  has  been  a 
trustee  of  the  Northampton  Institution  for  Savings. 

In  politics  Mr.  Chilson  is  a  Democrat.  In  religion  he  is 
a  Congregationalist  and  a  member  of  the  First  Church  Parish. 
Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  his  musical  training  in 
England.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Apollo  Club,  the  North- 
ampton Vocal  Club,  and  he  has  sung  in  both  the  Edwards 
and  the  First  Church  choirs. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chilson  are  a  son,  Gaylord 
Blake,  who  was  born  July  17,  1886,  and  died  August  22, 
1898,  and  a  daughter,  Ethel,  who  married  Ralph  Leonard 
Morse,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  October  5,  1916. 


HIRAM  DAY 

One  of  Northampton's  Sterling  Old  Citizens 

HIRAM  DAY  was  one  of  Northampton's  well-remem- 
bered citizens  whose  life  was  one  of  integrity  and 
usefulness  to  his  fellow  men.  He  came  of  an  old 
family.  Robert  Day,  the  immigrant  ancestor  of  his  family, 
was  born  in  England  about  1605,  and  came  to  this  country 
in  the  Hopewell  in  1634.  At  that  time  he  was  only  thirty 
years  of  age.  He  had  three  children,  one  of  whom,  Thomas, 
was  born  in  Cambridge  in  1636,  settled  in  Springfield,  and 
married  Sarah  Cooper  there  in  1659.  He  became  a  consid- 
erable land  owner  and  man  of  prominence,  and  for  a  time 
held  the  office  of  selectman.  He  had  five  children,  including 
Samuel,  born  in  1671,  who  probably  built  the  old  Day  house, 
still  standing,  in  West  Springfield. 

Robert  Day  settled  in  Cambridge,  but  went  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Edward  Stebbins,  in  the  company  that,  under 
the  leadership  of  Rev.  Mr.  Hooker,  journeyed  through  the 
wilderness  to  found  Hartford  in  1635. 

Hiram  Day  was  born  at  Northampton  June  12,  1824. 
His  father,  Nathaniel  Day,  was  a  member  of  the  old  family 
alluded  to  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs.  He  was  a  farmer, 
and  Hiram,  during  his  youth,  worked  on  the  farm,  where  he 
undoubtedly  did  good  service.  But,  like  many  other  New 
England  boys,  he  yearned  for  a  change,  and  he  found  it  for 
a  few  years  in  the  lively  twelve-hour-a-day  work  of  that 

236 


Hiram  Day 


237 


Hiram  Day  239 

time  at  the  freight-house  of  the  Connecticut  River  Railroad. 
At  length  he  secured  the  appointment  of  keeper  of  the  old 
toll  bridge  to  Hadley.  This  probably  made  him  happier,  as 
it  certainly  brought  him  into  closer  contact  with  his  fellow 
citizens,  with  whom  he  was  always  most  companionable. 
Here  he  became  a  familiar  figure  to  them  and  he  always  had 
a  pleasant  word  to  make  the  payment  of  tolls  feel  lighter. 

When  the  tolls  were  abolished  he  was  called  to  the 
higher  service  of  his  fellow  townsmen  as  treasurer  and  tax  col- 
lector of  the  town,  and  he  had  his  office  for  many  years  in  the 
store  of  Lee  and  Hussey.  He  closed  this  work  for  the  city 
about  the  time  Northampton  came  under  city  government. 

At  the  time  of  his  death,  September  8,  1913,  he  was  the 
oldest  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Northampton.  In 
1845  he  married  Harriet  E.  Cook  of  Northampton.  Their 
children  were  Ella  C.  Day,  who  died  in  West  Springfield 
about  seven  years  ago,  Henry  C.  Day  of  Northampton, 
Frank  H.  Day  of  Greenfield,  and  Mrs.  John  C.  Brickett  of 
West  Springfield.  Two  grandchildren  survived  him  —  Harold 
W.  Day  of  Northampton,  and  Esther  D.  Brickett  of  West 
Springfield. 

Hiram  Day  was  a  typical  New  Englander  of  his  genera- 
tion. From  the  nature  of  his  life  occupations  he  came  to 
know  many  residents  of  the  central  part  of  Hampshire  county, 
and  he  made  and  kept  many  warm  friends.  He  was  tall  and 
large  framed  physically,  with  a  keen,  intelligent,  and  strong 
face.  While  he  had  only  the  schooling  of  the  farmer's  boy, 
he  had  a  native  shrewdness  or  sharpness  of  intellect,  which 
came  from  extensive  reading,  and  much  observation  of  men 
and  things.  He  was  sincerely  interested  in  public  affairs 
and  public  men.  During  his  whole  life  he  was  a  Republican, 
and  when  he  left  Northampton  and  went  to  West  Springfield 
to  live  with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Brickett,  he  still  maintained 


240 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


his  interest  in  politics,  and  he  always  returned  to  his  old  home 
to  vote.  He  had  a  very  attractive,  genial  manner,  was  fond 
of  conversing  with  his  Northampton  friends  and  neighbors 
who  met  him  on  such  occasions,  and  he  frequently  enter- 
tained them  at  his  daughter's  home  in  West  Springfield. 
The  last  two  years  of  his  life  were  clouded  by  an  illness  which 
he  bore  with  patience  and  fortitude,  but  it  was  a  great  trial 
for  one  of  so  generally  active  a  mind  and  body.  To  the  end 
of  his  life  he  maintained  that  mental  clearness  which  distin- 
guished him  among  his  fellow  men. 


GERALD  STANLEY  LEE 

A  Philosopher-Author 

GERALD  STANLEY  LEE  is  a  native  of  Brockton, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  was  born  October  4,  1862. 
His  father  is  Samuel  H.  Lee,  born  December  21, 
1832.  His  mother,  before  marriage,  was  Emma  C.  Carter 
of  Pleasant  Valley,  Connecticut.  His  grandfathers  were  Wil- 
liam Lee,  born  in  1785  and  died  in  1878,  and  Evits  Carter, 
born  in  1805  and  died  in  1881.  His  grandmothers,  before 
marriage,  were  Emma  Taylor  of  Barkhamsted,  Connecticut, 
and  Sally  Storrs.  Gerald  Stanley  Lee's  father  has  been  a 
clergyman  of  the  Congregational  Church  and  an  educator  of 
prominence. 

The  American  ancestry  of  the  family  can  be  traced  back 
to  the  year  1641,  when  Thomas  Lee,  and  Phoebe  Brown,  his 
wife,  with  three  children,  came  from  Cheshire,  England,  and 
settled  in  Lyme,  Connecticut.  Of  Thomas  Lee  not  much  is 
found  in  the  history  of  his  times  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  man  of  note  in  his  community.  Gerald  Stanley  Lee's  great- 
grandfather was  a  man  of  perhaps  more  prominence.  He 
served  for  sixty-four  years,  (1768-1832)  as  clergyman  of  a 
church  which  he  organized  in  Hanover,  Connecticut.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Yale  Corporation,  and  was  so  far  a 
heretic  that  Harvard  invited  him  to  deliver  the  Concio  ad 
Clerum  and  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  D.D.    He  was  a 

241 


242  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

chaplain  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  and,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, was  with  Washington  at  the  famous  "Crossing  the 
Delaware." 

Captain  Ezra  Lee — third  from  the  Thomas  Lee  above 
named —  invented  a  submarine  boat  equipped  to  scuttle  ships. 
When  the  British  fleet  lay  in  New  York  harbor  it  was  sent  out 
one  dark  night  while  General  Washington  stood  with  Captain 
Lee  on  the  shore  for  observation.  The  craft  became  unman- 
ageable, however,  and  did  no  scuttling,  but  its  fumbling  around 
scared  the  British  officers  so  that  they  made  haste  to  retire 
from  the  harbor. 

Mr.  Lee's  grandfather,  on  the  paternal  side,  rode  in  the 
American  Cavalry  against  the  British,  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
his  grandfather  on  the  maternal  side  was  the  first  manufac- 
turer of  silk  in  the  United  States,  or,  perhaps  it  might  be  said 
more  correctly  that  the  Storrs  family  of  that  era  was.  Through 
his  Grandmother  Carter  —  a  Taylor — Mr.  Lee  is  ninth  in 
direct  descent  from  Elder  Brewster.  William  Taylor  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  He  served  with  Baron 
Steuben,  of  whom  he  was  a  great  admirer,  and  he  named  a  son 
after  him.  This  son  was  appointed  Professor  of  Science  in 
Brown  University,  but  died  soon  afterward.  The  records 
of  that  time  declare  there  was  great  grief  over  his  early  de- 
mise among  others  besides  his  own  family  relatives. 

In  this  connection  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Lee,  the  venerable 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  now  living  in 
Springfield,  contributes  the  following  paragraphs,  in  response 
to  a  request  for  information  concerning  the  early  history  of 
the  family: 

"The  Taylor  family  was  an  exceptional  one.  But  Walter 
Carter  found  in  his  researches  that  in  England  the  Carter 
family  ranked  higher  than  the  Taylor,  there  being  a  bishop  of 
the  English  church  among  them. 


Gerald  Stanley  Lee 


243 


Gerald  Stanley  Lee  245 


"This  matter  of  heredity  is  a  considerable  puzzle.  Gerald 
had  one  father  and  one  mother,  but  he  had  two  grandfathers 
and  two  grandmothers,  and  so  on.  Where  did  he  come  from? 
Whose  blood  is  in  him  that  is  'thicker  than  water'?  At  the 
time  of  the  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago  a  descendant 
from  old  Christopher  was  here,  and  Editor  Buckley  of  the 
Christian  Advocate  figured  that  out  of  twelve  hundred  drops 
of  his  several  gallons  of  blood  only  one  was  from  Columbus. 

"There  seems  to  be  wide  opportunity  for  discursive 
thought  on  this  subject  of  heredity.  The  blood  we  have 
from  Adam  has  taken  a  long  sweep  around  the  universe  to 
get  to  us  and  has  become  more  attentuated  than  the  undis- 
coverable  germ  of  poliomyelitis.  However,  I  think  that 
Gerald  gets  his  intellectual,  artistic  and  spiritual  qualities  from 
the  Taylors  and  the  Storrses,  and  his  modicum  of  common 
sense  from  the  Lees. 

"The  Lees  came  over  in  five  groups — in  1633, 1635,  two  in 
1641,  and  another  much  later  to  New  Orleans.  All  came  from 
Cheshire.  In  1641  the  Lyme  contingent — our  crowd — and  the 
Virginia  contingent  both  came.  They  were  of  the  rank  styled 
gentlemen.  The  Virginians  were  English  Churchmen,  the 
Connecticut  men  Puritans." 

Gerald  Stanley  Lee's  education  was  determined  by  the 
movements  of  the  family.  He  first  went  to  school  in  Green- 
field until  he  was  ten  years  old.  Presently  his  father  became 
pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Cleveland,  and 
he  continued  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that  city. 
When  the  family  moved  to  Oberlin,  and  his  father  accepted 
the  position  of  professor  of  Economics  in  Oberlin  College,  he 
became  a  student  in  Oberlin  College.  But  at  the  end  of  his 
junior  year  the  family  moved  to  Brattleboro,  and  he  took  his 
senior  college  year  at  Middlebury,  where  he  graduated  in  1885. 
He  studied  theology  at  Yale  Divinity  School  for  three  years, 


246  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


and  was  ordained  in  1888  as  minister  of  the  Congregational 
Church  in  Princeton,  Minnesota.  After  a  year  of  service 
there  he  came  East  and  spent  a  year  making  his  first  experi- 
ments in  literature  and  in  having  his  first  experience  with 
editors.  In  1893  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Sharon, 
Connecticut,  and  his  more  or  less  unconventional  address  on 
the  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Sharon  Church 
was  widely  noticed,  and  was  published  under  the  title  of 
"About  an  Old  New  England  Church — by  a  Young  New 
England  Parson."  This  was  his  first  book.  In  1893  he  be- 
came the  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  West  Spring- 
field. It  was  in  West  Springfield  that  Mr.  Lee  began  to  see 
that  he  would  have  to  be  an  author.  A  little  humorous  article 
on  "Literary  Prizes"  sent  to  The  Critic  led  to  his  being  asked 
by  the  editors  of  that  journal  to  review  such  books  as  they 
might  send  him,  and  his  reviews  of  Kipling  and  Barrie  and 
Zangwill,  the  other  leading  authors  of  the  time  resulted  in 
his  being  asked  for  books  of  his  own.  It  was  the  reception  of 
"The  Shadow  Christ"  (a  publication  in  a  literary  form  of  the 
leading  ideas  of  his  Sharon  and  West  Springfield  sermons) 
which  made  him  conclude  to  immediately  resign  from  his 
profession  and  devote  himself  to  literature. 

Soon  he  bought  his  present  place  in  Northampton,  and 
became  for  some  time  a  substitute  in  the  department  of  rhet- 
oric in  Smith  College,  and  a  lecturer  on  literature  and  art  in 
modern  times,  and  began  to  publish  his  books. 

"Mount  Tom — An  All  Outdoors  Magazine.  Devoted 
to  Rest  and  Worship  and  to  a  Little  Look-off  on  the  World" 
and  issued  every  other  month,  was  started  in  1905.  "The 
Lost  Art  of  Reading,"  which  was  a  study  of  education,  and 
"The  Child  and  the  Book,"  a  criticism  of  the  study  of  Eng- 
lish, were  published  in  1903.  "The  Voice  of  the  Machines" 
published  in  1906,  and  "Inspired  Millionaires"  in  1908,  were 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lee  at  their  Fireside 


247 


Gerald  Stanley  Lee  249 


the  books  that  first  contained  the  more  original  ideas  which 
have  since  become  identified  with  Mr.  Lee's  name.  They  were 
published  at  the  author's  own  expense,  and  attracted  practi- 
cally no  attention  in  this  country.  It  was  not  until  transla- 
tions had  been  made  in  German  and  French,  and  the  English 
edition  of  "Inspired  Millionaires"  had  appeared  in  England 
that  the  success  of  his  work  abroad  brought  it  into  attention 
at  home.  " Crowds,  a  Moving  Picture  of  Democracy"  pub- 
lished in  1913,  became  almost  immediately  the  best  selling 
non-fiction  book  of  the  year.  "Crowds"  was  followed  by 
"Crowds,  Jr.,"  1914;  and  by  "We,  a  Confession  of  Faith  for 
the  American  People  During  and  After  War,"  1916. 

Mr.  Lee's  appearance  in  Northampton  in  a  literary  way 
was  first  noticed  through  his  publication  of  the  Mount  Tom 
Magazine.  It  created  a  mild,  but  most  interesting  sensa- 
tion among  the  few  who  had  a  sympathetic  comprehension  of 
what  he  was  talking  about. 

The  comments  of  Mr.  Lee's  fellow  citizens  who  under- 
stood him,  or  fancied  they  understood  him,  were  various, 
but  more  than  one  was  heard  to  say,  in  effect,  "  Why,  this  is 
just  what  I  have  thought  myself,  but  have  not  been  able  to 
give  expression  to." 

The  Mount  Tom  Magazine,  while  it  did  not  reach  a  phe- 
nomenal local  circulation,  attracted  large  attention,  because  it 
voiced  the  prophet  without  honor  in  his  own  country  crying 
in  the  wilderness  of  material  thought. 

Naturally  there  has  been  much  inquiry  among  those  who 
have  not  read  Mr.  Lee's  books  as  to  whether  they  were  social- 
istic, or  of  opposite  tendency  in  philosophic  thought.  The 
fact  is  that  Mr.  Lee,  instead  of  inclining  his  millionaires  to 
socialistic  action,  has  incited  them,  rather,  to  a  more  intense 
and  nobler  type  of  individualism.  Opinion  has  differed  widely 
as  to  the  character  and  value  of  Mr.  Lee's  work.     Some  pro- 


250  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


fess  to  find  it  unintelligible  and  ridiculous,  but  the  great  ma- 
jority of  critics  have  declared  that  his  books  are  not  only 
highly  original  in  their  treatment  of  social  problems,  but  con- 
tribute much  of  value  toward  the  successful  solution  of  these 
problems.  Their  sale,  in  this  and  foreign  countries,  attests 
their  popularity  with  thoughtful  people. 

Mr.  Lee  is  an  independent  Republican  in  politics.  He 
married  June  26, 1896,  Jennette  Barbour  Perry,  third  daughter 
of  Philemon  and  Mary  Barbour  Perry  of  Bristol,  Connecticut. 
He  had  met  Miss  Perry  two  years  before  in  the  south  of  Ger- 
many.    They  have  one  daughter,  Geraldine. 

Mrs.  Lee  is  a  graduate  of  Smith  College;  was  teacher  of 
English  at  Vassar  from  1890  to  1893;  head  of  the  English 
Department  of  the  College  for  Women  at  the  Western  Reserve 
University  from  1893  to  1896;  instructor  in  English  from  1901 
to  1904,  and  professor  of  English  literature  and  language  from 
1904  to  1913  at  Smith  College.  She  is  herself  an  author  of 
note  and  the  following  books  of  hers  have  been  published 

"  Kate  Wetherill, "  1900 ;  "  A  Pillar  of  Salt, "  1901 ;  "  The 
Son  of  a  Fiddler, "  1902 ;  "  Uncle  William, "  1906 ;  "  The  Ibsen 
Secret,"  1907;  "Simeon  Tetlow's  Shadow,"  1909;  "Happy 
Island,"  1910;  "Mr.  Achilles,"  1912;  "Betty  Harris,"  1912; 
"The  Taste  of  Apples,"  1913;  "The  Woman  in  the  Alcove," 
1914;  "Aunt  Jane,"  1915;  "The  Symphony  Play"  and 
"Unfinished  Portraits,  1916.' '  Besides  she  has  written  numer- 
ous sketches  and  stories. 


Approaching  the  Residence  of  Mr.  Lee 


251 


View  from  Mr.  Lee's  Piazza,  looking  over  the  Meadows 
toward  Mount  Tom 


253 


HENRY  C.  HALLETT 

Former  Mayor  of  the  City 

HENRY  C.  HALLETT  had  the  honor  of  being  Mayor 
of  the  city  of  Northampton  during  the  year  the 
municipality  celebrated  its  Quarter-Millennial  An- 
niversary. The  three  days  of  that  celebration  were  the  most 
remarkable  gala  days  that  Northampton  ever  saw,  and 
Mayor  Hallett  presided  over  the  preliminary  work  and  the 
festivities  with  wisdom  and  dignity.  This  was  not  his  only 
honor,  for  the  people  retained  him  in  responsible  office  for 
three  years,  which  is  evidence  that  he  was  well  and  fittingly 
chosen. 

Mr.  Hallett's  election  as  Mayor  followed  as  a  natural 
sequence  his  service  to  the  city  as  an  alderman  for  three 
years  from  the  third  Ward.  He  was  not  a  man  to  seek  public 
office,  and  it  was  only  after  considerable  persuasion  that  he 
was  induced  to  enter  the  City's  highest  legislative  body,  but 
having  filled  an  alderman's  chair  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
constituents,  his  friends  had  less  difficulty  in  drafting  him 
for  the  mayoralty.  In  the  second  year  of  his  aldermanic 
service  he  was  honored  by  the  endorsement  of  the  Democratic 
party. 

Energy,  good  judgment,  and  conscientious  application 
marked  Mr.  Hallett's  several  terms  as  alderman.  He  was 
faithful  in  committee  work,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
city  as  a  whole,  and  showed  the  talent  of  a  business  man  in 

255 


256  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

every  connection  he  had  personally  with  city  affairs.  He 
declared  for  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  public  money, 
and  scrutinized  carefully  the  items  of  appropriation  and 
expenditure.  He  opposed  hasty  action  in  the  granting  of 
franchises  by  the  city,  and  asked  that  more  rigid  conditions 
be  imposed  on  corporations  which  asked  for  favors.  His 
vote  always  went  for  worthy  public  improvements,  but  he 
wanted  careful  investigation  first,  and  while  especially  favor- 
ing good  highways  he  believed  that  the  city  should  first 
bring  its  main  roads  into  satisfactory  condition  before  re- 
building the  side  streets.  He  favored  careful  supervision  in 
all  departments  and  only  such  expenditures  as  were  therein 
necessary.  He  did  not  favor  paring  down  appropriations, 
and  would  not  favor  the  reduction  of  any  appropriation 
unless  it  could  be  shown  that  certain  work  could  be  as  well 
done  for  less  money,  or  that  some  other  department  needed 
attention  first. 

Probably  no  mayor  of  the  city  ever  gave  more  time  to 
committee  work  than  did  Mr.  Hallett.  He  served  on  several 
important  committees  both  as  alderman  and  mayor,  and  when 
he  came  to  retire  altogether  from  municipal  government 
there  were  probably  few  men  in  the  city  who  were  so  familiar 
with  the  work  and  needs  of  the  municipality  as  he  was.  As 
a  member  of  the  special  committee  in  1898,  he  was  influen- 
tial with  his  fellow  aldermen  in  securing  a  new  armory  for  Com- 
pany I,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  construction 
of  the  building  within  the  appropriation  —  something  unusual 
in  large  municipal  enterprises. 

Mr.  Hallett  has  a  war  and  business  record  also  of  interest. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  showed  his  youthful  patriotism  by 
enlisting  in  Company  F,  34th  Massachusetts  Infantry  for 
service  in  the  Civil  War.  He  had  a  long  and  honorable 
career  in  the  army.     His  regiment  participated  in  the  battles 


Henry  C.  Hallett 


257 


Henry  C.  Hallett  259 


of  Petersburg  and  Winchester,  and  was  in  the  march  on 
Richmond  and  the  final  pursuit  of  General  Lee's  army  to 
Appomattox  Courthouse.  On  the  morning  of  the  surrender 
he  was  orderly  at  brigade  headquarters  and  went  into  camp 
with  the  Rebel  officers.  Young  Hallett  had  the  pleasure  of 
serving  under  General  George  B.  McClellan  in  the  early  part 
of  the  war.  His  regiment  took  part  in  the  first  skirmishes 
under  General  Siegel  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  later 
participated  in  Hunter's  famous  raid.  Then  it  became  a 
part  of  Phil  Sheridan's  army  and  took  part  in  the  vigorous 
campaign  waged  by  that  general.  At  the  battle  of  Win- 
chester he  saw  General  Sheridan  finish  his  celebrated  ride 
and  turn  a  rout  into  victory. 

Mr.  Hallett  cast  his  first  vote  in  camp,  before  he  was 
twenty-one,  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  returned  to  his  last  place  of  residence  before  the  war, 
Ashfield.  Not  long  afterward,  however,  he  was  called  to  the 
position  of  foreman  in  one  of  the  departments  of  the  Nono- 
tuck  Silk  Company  at  Leeds.  After  five  years  of  work  there 
he  was  engaged  by  the  Belding  Brothers  to  oversee  the  erec- 
tion of  their  new  mill  in  Northampton.  When  the  building 
was  completed  Mr.  Hallett  was  made  superintendent  of  the 
entire  works,  and  he  continued  in  that  responsible  position 
for  over  twenty  years.  His  long  and  faithful  service  there 
undoubtedly  contributed  largely  to  the  growth  and  success 
of  the  plant. 

The  Belding  Brothers  always  reposed  the  utmost  confi- 
dence in  him,  and  more  than  once  expressed  their  apprecia- 
tion of  his  services.  He  did  not  leave  them  until  some  time 
after  he  had  been  elected  mayor.  It  was  probably  a  rather 
unusually  vigorous  and  energetic  nature  and  physical  consti- 
tution that  enabled  Mr.  Hallett  to  attend  to  his  municipal 
and  business  duties  at  the  same  time  so  long  as  he  did.    He 


260 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


also  found  more  or  less  time  for  social  and  fraternal  society- 
gatherings.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  W.  L.  Baker 
Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  a  member  of 
the  Jerusalem  Lodge  of  Masons. 

Henry  C.  Hallett  is  a  native  of  the  Cape  Cod  district, 
where  he  was  born  at  Yarmouthport,  in  1844,  but  he  has 
spent  most  of  his  life  in  the  western  part  of  the  state.  He 
came  to  Ashfield  after  the  death  of  his  mother,  in  1846.  In 
that  good  old  Franklin  county  town  he  was  brought  up  as  a 
farmer's  boy  until  stirring  war's  alarms  roused  him  to  his 
country's  needs  and  he  enlisted,  as  already  recorded. 


RICHARD  W.  IRWIN 

Judge  of  the  Superior  Court 

RICHARD  W.  IRWIN  was  born  in  Northampton,  Feb- 
ruary 18, 1857.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in 
the  local  public  schools,  and  then  he  learned  the  trade 
of  machinist,  and  worked  in  the  Florence  Sewing-Machine 
Shop,  and  in  the  Elgin  Watch  Factory  at  Elgin,  Illinois. 
For  a  time  also  he  was  engaged  in  the  house  furnishing  busi- 
ness in  Natick  with  his  brother,  T.  L.  Irwin. 

During  these  years  he  was  much  devoted  to  the  study 
and  practice  of  music.  He  played  the  cornet  with  great 
efficiency  and  directed  military  bands  here  and  in  Elgin. 

A  business  life  did  not  appeal  to  him,  and  he  presently 
quit  it  to  enter  on  what  had  been  his  long-cherished  ambition 
—  the  study  of  the  law.  He  began  by  studying  for  two 
years  in  Judge  Bond's  office  in  Northampton,  but  in  1882 
entered  the  Boston  University  Law  School.  He  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  LL.B.,  summa  cum  laude,  in  1885,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  the  same  year.  From  that  time  on  he 
practiced  his  profession  in  his  home  city  until  1911,  when  he 
was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  North- 
ampton city  government  during  the  years  1888  and  1889, 
and  was  president  of  the  council  in  the  latter  year.  From 
1893  to  1898  he  was  City  Solicitor.  Beginning  in  1887  he 
was  First  Lieutenant  of  Company  I,  of  the  Second  Regiment 

261 


262  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

of  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia,  but  about  two  years 
later  became  captain  of  the  company,  an  office  which  he 
held  until  he  resigned  in  August  1892.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  organization,  and  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  Elks. 
He  is  vice-president  of  the  Northampton  Cooperative  Bank, 
trustee  of  the  Nonotuck  Savings  Bank;  and  he  was  an 
alternate  delegate  to  the  National  Republican  Convention  in 
1896,  and  a  delegate  to  the  convention  in  1900.  In  1904 
and  1905  he  was  president  of  the  Northampton  Club,  and  in 
1893  and  1894,  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Assessors  of  the 
First  Church.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
House  of  Representatives  in  1894  and  1895,  and  while  acting 
in  this  capacity  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Bills  in 
the  Third  Reading,  and  was  on  the  Committee  on  the  Ju- 
diciary and  Rules,  and  on  the  Special  Committee  to  prepare 
a  history  of  "Ye  Ancient  Codfish"  in  the  hall  of  the  Repre- 
sentatives. 

During  1896,  1897,  and  1898,  Mr.  Irwin  was  in  the 
State  Senate,  where  he  served  on  the  committees  on  the  Ju- 
diciary, Cities,  Counties,  Street  Railways,  Constitutional 
Amendments,  and  Bills  in  the  Third  Reading. 

In  1903  and  1904  he  was  in  the  Governor's  Council, 
and  served  as  a  member  of  the  committees  on  Charitable 
Institutions,  Military  and  Naval  Affairs,  Railroads,  State 
House,  Pardons,  Public  Lands,  and  Warrants. 

He  was  District  Attorney  for  the  Northampton  District 
from  1905  to  1911,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  his  present 
judgeship, 

Mr.  Irwin  married,  November  16,  1892,  Miss  Florence 
E.  Bangs,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adin  W.  Bangs  of 
Springfield. 

Judge  Irwin  has  always  been  a  facile  and  interesting 
speaker,  partly  because  of  a  strong  personal  magnetism,  and 


Judge  Richard  W.  Irwin 


263 


Richard  W.  Irwin  265 


partly  because  he  speaks  with  evident  sincerity.  He  has 
often  shown  himself  truly  eloquent,  as  on  the  occasion  of 
his  address  at  the  raising  of  a  flag  and  liberty  pole  in  the 
town  of  Amherst,  July  4,  1899,  and  particularly  on  a  memora- 
ble occasion  in  the  Legislature.  The  latter  refers  to  a  time 
in  1895  when  the  House  of  Representatives  was  moving 
from  the  old  to  the  new  chamber  in  the  Capitol  at  Boston. 
The  emblem  of  a  codfish  had  been  suspended  in  the  old 
chamber  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  and  the  State  House 
Commission  had  decided  to  give  the  "ancient  cod"  to  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  This  decision  was  op- 
posed by  Mr.  Irwin,  and  in  a  speech  of  more  than  passing 
worth  he  presented  the  case  of  the  "cod"  to  the  House. 
We  quote  here  that  portion  of  his  address  which  is  found  in 
a  volume  by  Henry  A.  Frink,  Ph.D.,  who,  at  the  time  the 
book  was  published,  was  professor  of  logic  and  rhetoric  at 
Amherst  College. 

THE  HISTORIC  CODFISH 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  rise  to  ask  you  to  place  in  the  new 
House  of  Representatives,  as  it  was  in  the  old,  the  emblem 
of  the  codfish.  I  pray  that  we  who  put  it  in  its  new  position 
may  be  as  fervent  in  our  patriotism  and  love  of  liberty  and 
right,  as  brave  to  act,  and  as  willing  to  suffer  as  those  who, 
over  a  century  ago,  hung  it  high  in  yonder  hall. 

Is  it  plain  and  humble?  It  has  always  been  so  of  emblems 
that  tell  of  deeds  and  purposes  really  great.  Whence  came 
the  word  "Puritan"  but  from  a  word  of  derision,  adopted 
afterwards  in  honor  and  pride?  Whence  the  song  of  "Yankee 
Doodle,"  to  whose  tune  Burgoyne  laid  down  his  arms  at 
Saratoga,  and  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown?  What  song  but  that 
of  "John  Brown's  Body,"  born  on  the  march  from  soldiers' 


266  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

thought,  led  our  country  on  through  the  long  and  flaming 
way  to  the  freedom  of  the  slave  and  a  nation's  regeneration? 
The  rugged  bear  has  for  years  represented  the  strength  of  the 
Russians.  The  symbol  of  the  bee  told  of  the  great  Napoleon. 
England's  chancellors  for  hundreds  of  years  have  sat  upon 
the  woolsack  in  front  of  the  throne.  The  rose  and  the  simple 
cross  of  St.  George  tell  the  story  of  England's  morning  drum- 
beat. It  was  under  the  lilies  of  France  that  men  followed  the 
plume  of  Navarre.  In  all  ages  of  the  Church  the  brazen 
serpent  has  been  the  emblem  of  Christianity,  and  the  cross 
upon  which  our  Savior  suffered  has  been  the  symbol  under 
and  before  which  a  whole  world  worships. 

The  plain  codfish,  too,  has  its  own  story.  This  nation's 
proudest  glory  is  a  story  of  war  by  sea,  and  Massachusetts 
has  no  greater  honor  than  that  her  seamen  stood  upon  the 
ships  and  manned  the  frigates  by  which  those  memorable 
and  renowned  victories  were  won.  For  it  was  with  the  fish- 
ermen of  the  capes  and  banks  that  Paul  Jones  drove  before 
him,  like  petrels  before  the  storm,  the  captains  who  fought 
under  Nelson  at  Trafalgar.  It  was  these  seamen  who  went 
with  Decatur  up  the  harbor  of  Tripoli.  It  was  our  own  Isaac 
Hull  before  whose  flaming  guns  the  Guerriere  went  down. 
These  men  manned  the  guns  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
President.  They  brought  back  the  dead  body  of  Lawrence 
up  yonder  harbor,  wrapped  in  his  country's  flag;  and,  in  a 
war  which  else  had  ended  in  disaster,  they  taught  England 
that  her  daughter  was  an  empress  of  the  sea. 

Nor  was  their  patriotism  or  valor  confined  to  the  seas 
which  were  their  home.  The  little  fishing  town  of  Marble- 
head  alone  sent  a  whole  regiment  to  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion; and  there  stands  upon  Commonwealth  Avenue  in  this 
great  city,  whose  wealth  came  largely  from  the  cod  fisheries, 
a  statue  telling  how  General  Glover  of  Marblehead  and  his 


Richard  W.  Irwin  267 


men  carried  Washington  and  his  army  across  the  almost 
impassable  Delaware,  and  thus  saved  the  Continental  Army, 
its  immortal  leader,  and  its  glorious  cause.  They  were  men 
from  our  own  coast  and  harbors.  They  were  your  sons, — 
Gloucester,  gray  Marblehead,  and  wind-scourged  Essex. 
Nay,  more,  they  were  your  sons,  0  proud  and  beautiful,  our 
mother  state. 

This  emblem  speaks  in  vibrant  tones  of  danger  met  and 
glorious  victories  won.  We  hear  the  yearly  uttered  cry  of 
sorrow  and  of  anguish  from  Marblehead  and  Gloucester, 
when  the  fleet  comes  back  bringing  its  pitiful  story  of  accident 
and  death.  It  tells  us  of  the  remorseless  sea  that  kills  and 
buries  not  its  dead;  of  the  young  and  strong  that  are  torn 
from  life  by  crushing  ice  and  ravenous  waves;  of  the  widow 
and  her  clinging  orphans  set  face  to  face  with  poverty;  of 
eyes  that  weep  uncomforted;  of  hearts  that  break  and  never 
mend. 

For  over  a  century  that  symbol  has  hung  in  the  House 
of  Representatives — for  over  a  century  in  which  Massa- 
chusetts has  won  her  proud  preeminence  among  the  states. 
It  saw  there  Lafayette,  Kossuth,  and  the  determined  and 
silent  Grant.  It  has  seen  most  of  our  governors  inaugurated 
with  formal  pomp  and  state.  It  heard  Webster,  Choate,  and 
Shaw,  as  they  discussed  the  constitution  of  the  Common- 
wealth. It  heard  the  matchless  voice  of  Phillips  as  he  pleaded 
for  the  freedom  of  the  slave  and  demanded  the  impeachment 
of  the  unjust  judge.  It  may  have  heard  Andrew  as  he  prayed 
in  his  room  at  midnight  that  his  country  might  be  spared, 
and  again,  after  the  sad  years,  in  the  council  room  which  it 
faces,  singing,  when  the  news  came  that  Vicksburg  had  fallen, 
and  Gettysburg  was  won,  the  old  doxology  of  thanksgiving. 
It  has  heard  coming  up  to  the  windows,  as  they  passed  by  the 
State  House,  the  cheering  shouts,  the  playing  bands,  and  the 


268  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

martial  tread  of  marching  men,  as  Massachusetts,  through 
four  long  years,  sent  forth  her  chosen,  her  bravest,  and  her 
tenderest  to  freedom's  war.  It  knew  when  Bartlett  of  Pitts- 
field  went  by  at  the  head  of  his  regiment — the  man  in  whom 
Sidney  lived,  fought,  and  died  again;  it  heard  the  solemn, 
determined  step  of  the  colored  regiment  which  Robert  Shaw 
led  on,  in  hopeless  charge,  to  death  at  Fort  Wagner.  It  saw 
the  Massachusetts  dead  brought  tenderly  back  from  Balti- 
more, the  state's  first  sacrifice  upon  the  bloody  altar  of  war. 
And  then,  when  the  war  was  over  and  a  nation  builded 
anew,  it  saw  that  glad  home-coming  when  the  battle  flags 
came  back;  when  up  the  streets  and  past  the  cheering  thous- 
ands and  through  the  wide  gates  of  the  capital  came  the 
regiments,  thin  and  shattered  and  wounded,  bearing  their 
crimsoned  flags  of  war,  and  moving  in  a  cloud  of  glory  which 
time  shall  never  dim. 

Let  us  take  this  emblem  in  reverence  and  honor  and  place 
it  on  high  as  one  of  the  proudest  decorations  of  this  great 
hall;  and  let  it  remain  there  so  long  as  this  State  House  shall 
stand,  a  memorial  of  the  Pilgrim,  his  privations,  and  simplicity; 
an  emblem  significant  of  the  hardiness,  courage,  and  faith  of 
those  who  dare  defy  the  seas,  and  daily  telling  of  the  great 
and  surpassing  glories  of  Massachusetts  and  her  sons. 


THE  O'DONNELL  FAMILY 

Its  Old-time  Renown  in  the  Homeland  across  the  Sea  and  the 
Story  of  some  of  its  Representatives  in  America 

THE  O'Donnell  family  has  a  distinguished  place  in 
Irish  history.  John  O'Hart's  book  on  Irish  "Pedi- 
gree" speaks  of  several  branches  of  the  family  in  dif- 
ferent counties  of  Ireland,  and  says  the  branch  from  which 
the  Northampton  family  descended  had  a  coat-of-arms  with  the 
motto,  "In  hoc  signo  vinces."  The  ancestry  of  the  American 
branch  has  been  traced  back  to  Shane  O'Donnell,  son  of  Tirlock. 
Shane  quarreled  with  his  father  and  was  banished  from  the 
North  of  Ireland,  where  the  family  dwelt,  to  the  province  of 
Munster  in  the  south.  The  O'Donnells  are  descended  from 
Cunaill  Gulbhan,  son  of  Niall  Mor,  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-sixth  monarch  of  all  Ireland.  Later  they  were  in- 
augurated and  proclaimed  Princes  of  Tirconnell,  the  ceremony 
taking  place  on  the  Rock  of  Kilmacrenan.  Their  chief  castle 
was  in  the  County  of  Donegal,  where  its  ruins  are  yet  to  be 
seen.  They  were  evidently  a  prolific  as  well  as  a  powerful 
family  in  those  days,  for  the  chief  of  Tirconnell  died  in  1422 
leaving  eighteen  sons.  The  Irish  spelling  of  the  name  is 
O'Dombnaill  which  means,  "All  mighty  in  the  World." 

One  of  the  family  was  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell.  "Roe" 
means  "red,"  and  the  English  form  of  the  name  would  have 
been  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell.  In  all  ages  Clan  O'Donnell  was 
loyal  to  Ireland.  Hugh  Roe  was  a  dashing  and  gallant  officer, 
brawny  and  strong  of  arm,  and  a  great  favorite  among  the 

269 


270  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

people.  He  was  second  in  command  of  the  Irish  army  in  the 
great  uprising  of  the  Irish  in  1594  in  defence  against  Queen 
Elizabeth's  army  which  had  landed  to  subjugate  Ireland. 
Hugh  O'Neil  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  Irish  army. 
After  ten  years  of  relentless  warfare  the  Irish  were  overcome, 
and  many  noted  families  left  Ireland  forever  rather  than 
submit  to  English  rule.  Many  of  the  O'Donnells  went  to 
Spain,  and  later  became  leaders  in  that  country.  One  of 
them,  Leopold  O'Donnell  became  a  Lieutenant  General  in 
the  Spanish  military  service.  Later  he  was  Captain  General 
of  Cuba,  and  later  still  Prime  Minister  of  Spain.  His  name 
appears  conspicuously  in  large  letters  on  the  tower  of  the 
Spanish  fort  in  Havana  harbor,  which  was  constructed  during 
his  administration  in  Cuba.  Hugh  Roe  died  in  Spain,  where 
his  remains  lie  buried  far  from  the  land  he  loved  so  well. 

One  of  the  standard  patriotic  songs  of  Ireland  is  in  honor 
of  Hugh  O'Donnell,  and  when  sung  well  it  arouses  great 
enthusiasm  in  an  Irish  audience.    It  runs  as  follows: 

O'DONNELL  ABOO 

Princely  the  note  of  the  trumpet  is  sounding; 

Loudly  the  war  cries  arise  on  the  gale; 

Fleetly  the  steed  by  Lough  Swilly  is  bounding, 

To  join  the  thick  squadrons  in  Saimears  green  vale; 

On!   every  mountaineer,  strangers  to  fight  and  fear; 

Rush  to  the  standard  of  dauntless  red  Hugh! 

Bannought  and  Gallowglass,  strong  from  each  mountain  pass, 

On  for  old  Erin  with  O'Donnell  aboo! 

Princely  O'Neil  to  our  aid  is  advancing, 

With  many  a  chieftain  and  warrior  clan, 

A  thousand  proud  steeds  in  his  vanguard  are  prancing, 

'Neath  the  borders  brave  from  the  banks  of  the  Bann; 

Many  a  heart  shall  quail  under  its  coat  of  Mail; 

Deeply  the  merciless  foeman  shall  rue, 

When  on  his  car  shall  ring,  borne  on  the  breezes  wing, 

Tirconnell's  dread  war  cry,  O'Donnell  aboo! 


Judge  John  B.  O'Donnell 


271 


The  O'Donnell  Family  273 

Wildly  o'er  Desmond  the  war  wolf  is  howling, 
Fearless  the  eagle  sweeps  over  the  plain; 
The  fox  in  the  streets  of  the  city  is  prowling, 
All,  all  who  would  scare  them  are  banished  or  slain. 
Grasp  ev'ry  stalwart  hand,  hackbut  and  battle  brand, 
Pay  them  all  back  the  deep  debt  so  long  due; 
Norris  and  Clifford  well,  Clan  of  Tirconnell  tell; 
Onward  to  glory  with  O'Donnell  aboo! 

Sacred  the  cause  that  Clan  Cunaill's  defending; 
The  altars  we  kneel  and  the  home  of  our  sires; 
Ruthless  the  ruin  the  foe  is  extending, 
Midnight  is  red  with  the  plunderers  fires; 
On  with  O'Donnell,  then,  fight  the  old  fight  again, 
Sons  of  Tirconnell,  all  valiant  and  true! 
Make  the  invader  feel  Erin's  avenging  steel, 
Strike  for  your  country  with  O'Donnell  aboo! 

JOHN  B.  O'DONNELL 

Former  Mayor  and  Now  Judge 

John  B.  O'Donnell  was  born  in  Inch,  County  of  Kerry, 
Ireland,  September  8,  1846.  His  father  was  James,  son  of 
Terence.  They  also  were  born  in  Inch.  His  mother  was 
Bridget  Herlihy,  daughter  of  John,  both  of  whom  were  born 
in  Keelduff,  in  County  Kerry.  Terence,  father  of  James,  was 
one  of  the  gentlemen  farmers  in  a  community  of  farmers. 
He  had  eight  children,  and  he  was  reputed  to  be  one  of  the 
richest  men  in  town.  After  the  death  of  his  second  wife,  as 
age  crept  on  him  he  divided  his  property  among  his  children. 

The  boy  John  had  scarcely  reached  the  age  of  two  when 
the  most  severe  famine  that  ever  visited  Ireland  broke  out. 
For  about  four  years  the  crops  rotted  and  spoiled  before  ripen- 
ing, but  the  rent  had  to  be  paid  to  foreign  landlords,  all  the 
same.  In  1848,  to  avoid  the  complete  ruin  that  threatened 
to  overwhelm  him,  James  O'Donnell  left  home  and  family, 
and  set  sail  alone  to  seek  his  fortune  in  America.  The  next 
year  he  sent  money  home  to  pay  the  passage  of  his  wife, 


274  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

and  in  1850  he  sent  for  his  three  children,  Catherine,  John,  and 
Terence.  Terence  is  now  an  able  and  prominent  lawyer  in 
Holyoke.  Four  children  were  born  to  James  and  Bridget  in 
America,  and  John  B.  has  often  facetiously  remarked,  "Half 
of  our  family  are  Paddies  and  the  other  half  are  Yankees." 
James  worked  in  the  construction  of  railroads  —  much  of  the 
time  in  the  wilderness  —  in  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Massachusetts,  until  1854.  Then  he  came  to  Northampton, 
and  helped  in  the  making  of  the  "Canal"  railroad  —  between 
Northampton  and  Easthampton.  After  that  was  completed 
he  assisted  in  building  the  foundation  for  the  Northampton 
Insane  Hospital.  He  then  concluded  to  cast  anchor  perma- 
nently in  Northampton. 

The  youthful  career  of  the  boy  John  is  full  of  interest, 
and  it  warrants  a  space  here  because  it  shows  what  will- 
power, determination,  and  perseverance  can  do  for  a  poor 
lad  in  America  in  getting  an  education,  in  fitting  himself  for 
life's  work  and  becoming  useful  in  the  world  for  himself  and 
others.  He  arrived  in  this  country  before  he  was  five  years 
old,  chubby,  healthy,  and  full  of  good  nature,  and  he  en- 
joyed life  in  his  new  home.  On  account  of  frequent  moving, 
and  living  far  from  schools,  young  O'Donnell  had  no  oppor- 
tunity to  attend  school  until  he  reached  Northampton  when 
he  was  eight  years  old.  He  began  his  education  in  one  of 
the  twin  schoolhouses  that  was  where  the  Copeland  house 
now  stands  on  South  Street.  But  John  was  not  long  there 
when  he  "graduated,"  and  entered  the  "big  school"  adjoin- 
ing, where  he  became  a  classmate  of  Frederick  N.  Kneeland, 
now  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  this  city.  He 
entered  the  third  class,  but  before  the  year  ended  he  had 
jumped  two  classes  and  finished  in  the  first  class.  He  says 
that  the  teacher  of  this  "high"  school  was  tall  and  straight, 
graceful  and  dignified,  and  he  admired  her  very  much.     He 


The  O'Donnell  Family  275 

learned  easily,  studied  hard,  and  was  one  of  her  favorites. 
She  was  Miss  Martha  B.  Kingsley,  who,  no  doubt,  is  kindly 
and  gratefully  remembered  by  many  others  yet  living. 

During  the  very  hard  times  in  1857  some  of  the  schools 
were  closed,  except  to  pupils  who  could  pay  $1.75  each. 
The  O'Donnell  trio  were  barred.  The  late  Henry  S.  Gere, 
who  passed  the  O'Donnell  home  several  times  daily,  saw 
that  the  children  were  not  at  school,  and  on  learning  the 
cause  told  their  father  that  if  he  would  saw  wood  at  his 
home  he  would  pay  for  the  children's  schooling.  The  father 
gladly  accepted  this  offer,  and  the  "trio"  had  the  distinction 
of  being  pupils  in  a  "private  school." 

When  John  was  eleven  he  was  sent  to  Hadley  to  do 
chores  for  Benjamin  Lombard  for  his  board  and  schooling. 
It  was  during  this  year  that  he  attended  Hopkins  Academy, 
and  it  is  needless  to  say  he  made  good  use  of  his  time  and 
improved  his  opportunity.  The  following  year  he  was  or- 
dered home  from  Hadley  as  arrangements  had  been  made  for 
the  O'Donnell  family  to  move  to  Florence. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  years  and  six  months  John  began 
work  in  the  Florence  Cotton  Mill.  He  labored  from  half- 
past  six  in  the  morning  to  half -past  seven  in  the  evening,  with 
only  one-half  hour  intermission  for  dinner  —  and  all  for  twen- 
ty-five cents  per  day.  His  brother,  younger  than  he,  was 
working  then  for  a  daily  wage  of  twenty-one  cents.  We  may 
with  propriety  pause  here  in  our  sketch  and  quote  an  inter- 
esting account  from  Mr.  O'Donnell's  own  pen,  which  he  wrote 
twenty-five  years  ago  for  Mr.  Charles  A.  Sheffeld's  admira- 
ble "History  of  Florence,"  as  follows: 

"  In  complying  with  your  request  to  write  relative  to  my 
early  recollections  of  the  beautiful  village  so  long  my  home, 
scenes  of  pleasure  and  joy  crowd  upon  me.  These  are  min- 
gled with  sorrow  and  sadness  when  I  think  of  the  many  dear 


276  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

friends  and  kind  neighbors  who  then  were  adding  to  and 
aiding  in  the  general  happiness,  but,  alas!  who  are  now  in 
their  long  and  silent  homes. 

"About  the  middle  of  March,  1859,  when  twelve  years 
of  age,  stout  and  muscular,  robed  in  a  farmer's  frock,  near 
the  "Cross  house,"  in  Florence,  with  unerring  aim  I  stood 
at  noon  pouring  snowballs  at  the  boys  and  young  men  on 
their  way  to  the  cotton  mill  and  button  shop.  The  snow- 
balls were  so  hard  and  my  boldness  so  exasperating  that 
several  times  a  rush  was  made  to  thrash  me,  to  avoid  which 
I  sought  refuge  within  the  walls  of  the  house.  Thus  it  was 
that  I  introduced  myself  to  the  companions  and  friends  of 
my  youth  and  manhood. 

"Florence  at  this  time  was  a  place  of  humble  but  happy 
homes.  The  classes  and  self-styled  aristocrats,  so  numerous 
in  other  places,  were  here  unknown.  Protestant,  Catholic, 
Gentile,  and  Jew,  white  and  black,  all  were  invited,  re- 
ceived, and  welcomed  as  members  of  one  common  broth- 
erhood. There  were  few  houses,  comparatively.  There  was 
no  church,  but  meetings  were  often  held  in  the  little  dis- 
trict schoolhouse  that  stood  where  the  high  school  build- 
ing now  stands.  The  Catholics  went  to  Northampton  to 
mass  in  the  King  Street  church.  To  this  church  and  back, 
the  people  of  Florence,  and  very  many  from  Easthamp- 
ton,  Hatfield,  Williamsburg,  and  Amherst  walked,  yet  con- 
sumption and  heart  disease  were  almost  unknown  among 
them.  There  was  no  public  mode  of  conveyance  on  Sun- 
days, and  only  Abercrombie's  bus  on  week  days,  at  fifty  cents 
for  the  round  trip. 

"The  games  and  sports  of  the  youth  were  mostly  in- 
dulged in  on  the  Sabbath  Day.  "Paradise,"  then  owned  by 
the   Greenville   Manufacturing   Company,   was  fairly  alive 


The  O'Donnell  Family  277 

with  girls,  boys,  and  men  on  Sundays  during  the  summer. 
In  the  winter  the  scene  of  action  changed  to  the  crust-covered 
snow  on  the  hillsides,  and  the  ice  on  the  ponds  and  river, 
and  always  their  merry  laughter  and  joyous  shouts  rang  and 
echoed  over  the  neighboring  hills. 

"The  strict  Sabbatarian  who  may  peruse  these  lines, 
will  not,  I  trust,  too  severely  criticise  and  censure  the  youth, 
the  parents,  or  the  community  of  those  days.  There  was  no 
law  fixing  the  school  age  of  the  children,  and  all  the  poor 
were  obliged  to  begin  to  work  at  an  early  age.  It  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  see  children  regularly  employed  at  the 
age  of  nine  years,  and  these  —  almost  infants  —  and  all 
others  were  obliged  to  labor  from  half  past  six  in  the  morning 
till  half  past  seven  at  night,  with  only  one-half  hour  inter- 
mission for  dinner.  Where  was  the  time  during  the  week 
for  reading,  recreation,  and  sleep? 

"But  as  time  went  on  and  the  factories  prospered,  many 
strict  church  people  immigrated  to  the  village.  They  natu- 
rally objected  to  this  godless  manner  of  observing  the  holy 
Sabbath,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  break  it  up.  They  had 
Mr.  Julius  Phelps,  afterwards  a  deacon  of  the  "White" 
Church,  appointed  a  constable  to  arrest  and  imprison  (!)  all 
Sabbath  breakers.  While  Mr.  Phelps  was  a  conscientious, 
Christian  gentleman,  he  had  a  big,  liberal,  and  sympathetic 
heart.  The  boys  respected  him  very  much,  and  they  were 
ever  ready  to  show  their  obedience  and  good  intentions  — 
when  he  was  in  sight!  They  continued  clandestinely,  how- 
ever, to  play  as  of  old,  but  when  the  games  were  in  progress 
the  sentinels  and  pickets  were  always  on  duty,  ever  on  the 
alert  to  give  the  alarm,  when  all  would  at  once  put  on  their 
coats,  sit  down  lawfully,  and  await  the  approach  of  the 
"common  enemy."  They  always  got  a  lecture  and  good 
advice  from  the  kindhearted  constable.    But  Mr.   Phelps 


278  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

"caught  on"  to  the  picket  protection,  and  formulated  plans 
to  break  through  it. 

"The  evening  school  of  Florence  was  a  most  timely  and 
beneficial  institution.  Samuel  L.  Hill  was  the  prime  mover 
and  principal  supporter  for  five  years,  when  the  town  as- 
sumed the  management.  A.  T.  Lilly,  Samuel  A.  Bottum, 
and  others  were  contributors.  For  a  few  years  the  teaching 
was  done  by  volunteers.  Among  these  were  Daniel  W.  Bond, 
now  an  honored  judge  of  the  superior  court,  Thomas  S.  Mann, 
and  A.  R.  Morse.  During  the  vacations  of  this  school, 
writing  was  taught  by  Michael  Walsh,  Edson  S.  Ross,  and 
Mr.  Hillman. 

"Among  the  persons  employed  to  teach  the  evening 
school  were  Mary  W.  Bond,  a  very  successful  teacher,  and 
Caroline  W.  James,  who  was  the  longest  connected  with  the 
school.  She  was  a  lady  of  rare  executive  ability,  kind  and 
gentle,  yet  the  most  unruly  boy  was  completely  under  her 
control.  She  seemed  readily  to  extricate  from  difficulty  the 
dullest  mind,  and  never  appeared  impatient  or  discouraged. 
The  school  was  well  and  regularly  attended,  having  about 
fifty  scholars,  and  among  her  'graduates'  are  successful 
journalists,  lawyers,  mechanics,  and  business  men  and  women. 

"To  this  school  many  of  us  owe  much,  and  to  the  origi- 
nators, supporters,  and  teachers  we  can  never  be  too  grate- 
ful. I  gladly  take  this  opportunity  to  acknowledge  my  ap- 
preciation of  their  philanthropy  and  valuable  services,  and 
to  extend  my  grateful  thanks  to  those  of  them  who  are  living. 
I  shall  ever  revere  and  cherish  the  memory  of  those  who  have 
since  joined  the  silent  majority,  who,  I  trust,  are  now  enjoying 
their  heavenly  reward." 

So  eager  was  young  O'Donnell  for  an  education  that  he 
improved  every  opportunity  to  acquire  one.     He  went  to 


The  O'Donnell  Family  279 

evening  school  for  ten  years  and,  during  the  first  three  of 
these  years,  ate  no  supper  until  after  he  returned  from  school, 
about  nine-thirty  in  the  evening.  All  the  mills  in  the  village 
—  except  the  cotton  mill  —  closed  at  half -past  six.  The  cot- 
ton mill  closed  an  hour  later,  which  was  just  the  time  that 
the  night  school,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  opened.  The 
rules  of  the  mill  required  that  the  working  hands  should  not 
wash  nor  brush  their  clothing,  until  after  the  mill  closed. 
They  could  have  done  it  between  "feeds"  without  loss  of 
time.  The  cotton  waste  stuck  to  the  boys'  clothing  almost 
like  sticking  plaster.  The  night  school  boys  and  girls  asked 
the  management  for  leave  to  brush  up  and  wash  up  before 
the  mill  closed  so  they  could  run  to  school  and  be  only  a  little 
late.  But  this  simple  privilege,  though  it  would  have  entailed 
no  loss  to  the  mill,  was  denied  them,  on  the  ground  that  it 
would  be  a  bad  example  to  the  other  help. 

John  was  popular,  and  so  good  a  general  athlete  that  in 
the  games  every  boy  wanted  him  on  his  side.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  became  a  member  and  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
noted  Eagle  Base  Ball  Club  of  Florence,  and  he  continued 
one  of  its  most  active  and  interested  players  until  it  dis- 
banded three  years  later.  They  nearly  won  the  champion- 
ship of  New  England,  and  as  Champions  of  Western  Massa- 
chusetts they  held  the  famous  silver  ball  for  a  time.  The 
Club  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  winning  the 
silver  ball  at  Judge  O'Donnell's  house.  Seven  of  the  ten 
members  present  came  especially  for  the  occasion  from 
their  homes  in  Kansas,  New  York,  Rhode  Island,  and  Con- 
necticut. One  was  ill,  and  the  other  two  had  passed  on  to 
the  world  beyond. 

After  young  O'Donnell  left  the  cotton  mill  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  worked  making  guns  and  bayonets  for  the  soldiers 
fighting  on  Southern  battlefields.     Later  he  was  employed  by 


280  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

the  Florence  Sewing  Machine  Company,  and  when  he  was 
nineteen  became  a  sub-contractor  in  this  business.  During 
the  fall,  winter,  and  spring,  he  gave  all  his  spare  time  to  his 
studies  under  private  tutors,  with  a  longing  for  the  profession 
of  law.  He  established  and  conducted  a  grocery  and  boot 
and  shoe  store  for  two  years.  Then  he  saw  his  way  clear  to 
spend  a  year  specially  preparing  for  the  study  of  law.  The 
following  year  he  read  law  in  the  office  of  his  brother  T.  B. 
O'Donnell  in  Holyoke,  and  a  year  later  entered  the  Boston 
University  Law  School.  He  graduated  from  this  school  in 
the  class  of  1877  and  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws. 
But  with  the  purpose  of  mastering  his  profession  as  fully  as 
possible  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  and  remained  an- 
other year  at  the  University.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
Hampshire  County  bar  in  June,  1878.  On  the  first  day  of 
July  he  opened  a  law  office  in  Northampton,  where  he  soon 
had  a  lucrative  law  practice.  He  became  one  of  the  ac- 
knowledged leaders  of  the  bar.  He  brought  to  the  practice 
of  his  profession  not  only  a  good  foundation  in  study,  but  a 
large  store  of  common  sense,  and  a  varied  business  expe- 
rience, which  he  used  to  advantage  in  assisting  his  clients. 

Mr.  O'Donnell  is  a  Democrat  and  a  close  student  of 
politics.  But  he  has  not  always  been  a  Democrat.  When 
he  attained  his  majority  he  identified  himself  with  the  Re- 
publican party,  principally  for  two  reasons  —  because  it  was 
in  favor  of  prohibition,  and  because  it  advocated  a  tariff  for 
protection  —  both  of  which  Mr.  O'Donnell  then  believed  in. 
He  did  what  he  could  to  elect  as  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
Thomas  Talbot  against  William  Gaston.  But  Gaston  won 
on  the  issue  of  license.  The  following  year,  the  Republican 
party  was  in  favor  of  license,  and  has  been  ever  since.  Mr. 
O'Donnell,  in  giving  his  reasons  for  his  change  of  parties, 
said,  "I  have  no  sympathy  with  a  party  whose  principle  was 


The  O'Donnell  Family  281 

knocked  out  of  it  by  a  licking..  The  Republicans  appeared 
to  be  sham  prohibitionists.  I  believe  in  honesty  and  I 
joined  the  Democrats  because  they  voted  as  they  drank." 

About  this  time,  he  says,  the  sewing  machine  companies 
sold  their  machines  in  this  country  for  forty-five  dollars,  and 
they  sold  the  same  machines  in  England  for  thirty  dollars. 
He  believed  the  tariff  enabled  the  companies  to  make  such 
a  difference,  and  he  became  a  believer  in  Tariff  Reform. 
About  that  time,  too,  the  Credit  Mobilier  scandal  was  uncov- 
ered. Mr.  O'Donnell  has  since  generally  acted  with  the 
Democratic  party,  though  he  bolted  the  nomination  of  Grover 
Cleveland  the  first  time  Mr.  Cleveland  ran  for  president. 

Before  Northampton  became  a  city,  Mr.  O'Donnell  took  an 
active  part  in  town  affairs.  He  was  then  considered  one  of  the 
rising  young  men.  He  was  made  a  member  of  an  important  com- 
mittee to  draft  and  report  on  a  sewer  system  for  the  town.  A 
majority  of  the  committee  agreed  on  the  combined  system.  Mr. 
O'Donnell  believed  with  Colonel  John  L.  Otis  and  Benjamin  E. 
Cook  that  the  separate  or  double  system  —  one  for  sewage 
proper,  and  one  for  storm  water  —  which  was  by  far  the  less 
expensive,  was  much  the  better  for  the  town  to  adopt.  Mr. 
O'Donnell  wrote  the  minority  report  clearly  and  comprehen- 
sively, and  it  is  printed  in  the  town  reports  of  1883.  He  has 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  city  is  now  adopting  the 
separate  system  as  much  as  the  old  system  will  allow. 

Mr.  O'Donnell  was  placed  on  another  important  com- 
mittee, to  draft  a  city  charter  for  the  town.  As  in  everything 
he  undertook,  he  studied  the  subject  well.  About  ten  years 
ago  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  city  council  to  draft 
a  new  city  charter.  They  were  three  years  at  the  work.  It 
was  published,  and  the  editor  of  the  Daily  Gazette  requested 
Mr.  O'Donnell  to  write  an  article  showing  the  difference 
between  the  old  and  new  charters.     He  did  this  fully  and  so 


282  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

clearly  that  no  question  was  raised  as  to  the  correctness  of 
the  analysis.     The  new  charter  was  rejected. 

Mr.  O'Donnell  has  been  honored  by  his  party,  but  those 
who  know  him  best  know  that  he  never  sought  political 
office.  Practically  all  the  offices  he  has  held  were  thrust  on 
him.  He  was  bent  on  attending  to  his  business,  and  taking 
part  in  politics  only  for  recreation,  but  it  was  argued  that 
he  owed  a  duty  to  his  party.  He  was  long  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Democratic  Town  Committee;  later,  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  City  Committee;  chairman  of  the 
Hampshire  County  Democratic  Committee;  a  member  of  the 
first  City  Council  as  councilman;  chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Assessors  for  two  years,  from  which  Board  he  resigned  in 
1889  to  take  a  trip  to  Europe.  He  there  visited  Ireland, 
England,  Scotland,  Wales,  Germany,  France,  Switzerland, 
and  Holland.  That  year  his  party  wanted  to  nominate  him 
for  mayor,  but  he  refused.  The  following  year  he  reluc- 
tantly consented  at  the  "eleventh  hour,"  and  he  was  badly 
defeated,  even  one  of  the  two  Democratic  wards  going  against 
him.  There  was  one  consolation  —  his  own  Florence  ward, 
though  strongly  Republican,  gave  him  a  handsome  majority. 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  man  now  manifested 
itself  —  perseverance,  never-give-up.  While  he  had  been 
virtually  drafted  into  the  running,  he  now  resolved  that  he 
would  be  mayor  of  Northampton.  He  ran  the  following 
year  and  won  by  three  votes  only,  carrying  only  the  same 
two  wards,  though  with  increased  majorities  and  reducing 
the  majorities  in  the  other  wards.  He  was  happy,  not  be- 
cause he  was  the  mayor-elect,  but  because  he  won.  He  gave 
a  banquet  to  about  seventy-five  of  his  supporters  and  friends, 
and  they  had  a  jolly  good  time.  But  his  happiness  was  not 
of  long  duration.  He  soon  found  himself  at  odds  with  some  of 
his  warmest  friends  and  supporters.     Hardly  had  the  echoes 


The  O'Donnell  Family  283 

of  his  inaugural  died  away  before  he  had  trouble  with  a  fac- 
tion of  his  own  party.  The  members  of  this  faction  re- 
quested him  not  to  reappoint  a  certain  prominent  Republican 
official,  but  to  place  a  Democrat  in  the  office.  The  official 
was  considered  by  some  to  be  able  and  indispensable,  and  a 
large  majority  of  the  people  wished  him  retained.  In  spite 
of  the  protest  of  a  faction  of  his  party  friends,  the  mayor  re- 
appointed the  Republican  for  the  good  of  the  service.  This 
act  so  angered  a  large  section  of  his  party  that  they  declared 
they  would  defeat  him  for  reelection.  He  said  the  respon- 
sibility for  appointments  was  on  him  and  not  on  his  friends. 
He  then  wrote  to  the  author  of  this  sketch  that/ 'If  I  had 
supposed  I  was  expected  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  any  party  or 
faction  during  my  term  I  would  not  have  accepted  the  nomi- 
nation, and  I  myself  propose  to  be  mayor  for  one  year  any- 
way." 

But  this  was  not  all.  There  was  more  trouble  in  store 
for  him.  His  party  was  in  the  majority  in  the  Board  of 
Aldermen.  The  city  voted  for  license.  Among  the  licenses 
which  the  Board  of  Aldermen  advocated  granting  were  two 
against  which  a  strong  public  protest  had  been  made.  An 
intimate  friend  of  the  mayor  was  the  leader  of  the  aldermen. 
The  mayor's  sympathy  was  with  the  objectors.  He  refused 
to  sign  the  two  licenses,  and  his  reasons,  given  in  writing, 
were  that  both  of  them  were  to  be  exercised  in  new  places 
and  in  residential  localities,  and  in  a  ward  which  had  voted 
against  license.  The  aldermen  then,  for  the  purpose  of  co- 
ercing the  mayor,  refused  to  grant  any  license;  and  the 
city  actually  "went  dry"  for  several  days.  This  created  a 
great  commotion.  The  mayor,  who  was  a  teetotaler  and 
had  never  used  intoxicating  liquors  or  tobacco  in  any  form, 
said  to  the  aldermen  privately,  "Gentlemen,  I  can  get  along 
without  my  whiskey  as  long  as  you  can!" 


284  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

They  soon  learned  that  they  did  not  know  the  mayor. 
One  of  them  asked  him  to  call  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board 
as  he  thought  they  would  grant  the  other  licenses. 

"No,  sir,"  the  mayor  said,  "not  until  I  am  assured  by 
themselves  that  they  will  vote  to  grant  the  licenses." 

The  assurance  was  given,  the  meeting  was  called,  and 
the  licenses  granted,  except  the  two.  It  was  simply  a  matter 
of  judgment  between  the  mayor  and  aldermen.  But  the 
mayor  carried  his  sovereignty  under  his  own  hat,  so  the 
aldermen  learned. 

The  sewer  problem  that  had  been  before  the  City  Coun- 
cil for  two  years  was  awaiting  solution.  The  three  western 
wards  —  Bay  State,  Florence,  and  Leeds  —  were  asking  for 
sewers.  The  city  had  neither  money  nor  power  to  borrow, 
and  the  four  aldermen  from  the  center  wards  refused  to 
burden  the  city  further  with  debt.  The  mayor  sided  with 
the  western  wards,  claiming  that  sewers  were  an  indispensa- 
ble necessity  in  thickly  settled  communities,  that  they  were 
a  good  asset,  and  were  always  worth  what  they  cost.  He 
prepared  the  votes  submitted  to  the  aldermen,  asking  the 
Legislature  for  leave  to  borrow  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  There  was  an  acrimonious  debate  —  in  which  the 
mayor,  of  course,  did  not  take  part  —  and  in  which  the  alder- 
men of  the  four  Center  wards  were  reminded  that  more  than 
a  half  million  of  dollars  had  been  expended  by  the  city  in 
providing  sewers  for  the  four  Center  wards  and  not  a  dollar 
for  the  outside  wards.  But  the  measure  was  defeated  four 
to  three.  A  motion  for  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  met 
a  like  fate.  However,  a  motion  for  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
as  a  beginning,  was  carried  unanimously,  the  four  Center 
aldermen  yielding.  The  mayor  appeared  before  the  Legis- 
lative Committee  at  Boston  and  made  full  explanation.  The 
committee  asked  him  for  his  opinion  as  a  taxpayer.     He 


The  O'Donnell  Family  285 

gave  it,  and  the  committee  recommended  and  the  Legislature 
voted  that  Northampton  might  borrow  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  to  construct  sewers.  The  people  of  the  western 
wards  were  happy. 

But  the  job  for  which  Mr.  O'Donnell  deserves  the  most 
credit  as  mayor  and  with  which  his  name  will  always  be  as- 
sociated, is  the  separation  of  grades  of  the  highways  and  rail- 
roads. Grade  crossings  at  best  are  dangerous,  but  that  on 
Main  Street,  the  track  approaches  to  which  were  hidden  by 
buildings,  was  characterized  as  a  "death  trap."  The  City 
Council  petitioned  the  Court  for  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mission for  the  separation  of  grades.  The  petition  was 
granted.  Trial  was  held  for  many  weeks  before  this  com- 
mission. Mr.  O'Donnell  had  no  part  in  it.  The  city  gov- 
ernment had  voted  to  ask  that  the  railways  be  elevated, 
while  the  railroad  companies  insisted  that  the  highways 
should  be  elevated.  The  report  of  the  commission  was 
filed  a  few  months  before  Mr.  O'Donnell  took  his  seat  as 
mayor,  finding  against  the  city  in  every  particular  and 
ordering  the  highways  in  the  center  elevated  over  the  rail- 
roads. All  that  was  necessary  now  was  to  have  a  Judge  of 
the  Superior  Court  ratify  and  approve  to  make  it  binding 
forever. 

The  mayor  took  his  seat  on  the  fourth  of  January,  and 
by  the  middle  of  the  following  month  a  judge  would  be  asked 
to  approve  the  report  of  the  commission.  The  approval  had 
heretofore  never  been  known  to  fail.  In  his  inaugural  address 
the  mayor  said  on  this  subject: 

"The  decision  of  the  special  commission  on  the  grade 
crossing  matter  came  upon  some  of  our  people  like  a  thun- 
derbolt from  a  clear  summer  sky.  It  is  a  fearful  reflection 
upon  humanity  when  we  say,  as  thousands  of  us  have  recently 
said,  that  the  people  cannot  obtain  justice  when  they  come 


286  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

in  conflict  with  these  powerful  corporations.  And  no  wonder. 
When  men  living  in  luxury,  flying  from  one  part  of  the  Com- 
monwealth to  the  other,  will  admit  before  a  committee  of  the 
Legislature,  in  effect,  that  they  have  no  business  but  "  fixing 
caucuses,"  working  elections,  and  lobbying  with  legislatures, 
in  the  interest  of  railroads,  it  is  enough  to  cause  us  to  think 
that  their  wicked  hands  are  in  everything.  Add  to  this  the 
fact  that  a  railroad  president  living  in  another  county  must 
admit  that  he  is  doing  all  he  can  to  defeat,  with  the  aid  of 
railroad  hirelings,  a  nominee  for  office  in  this  county,  and  all 
in  the  interest  of  railroad  corporations,  and  it  increases 
suspicion.  When  the  legislators  will  pass  a  law  giving  the 
railroad  directors  the  right  to  'veto'  any  decree  .of  the  com- 
mission, and  at  the  same  time  compel  the  people  to  abide  by 
the  decree,  it  is  unfair,  one-sided,  and  an  outrage. 

"Against  the  individuals  composing  the  special  commis- 
sion we  have  nothing  to  say.  Their  reputation  for  honesty 
and  honor  is  above  reproach.  While  this  is  all  true,  some  of 
us  cannot  help  but  feel  that  the  city  did  not  obtain  its  rights 
during  the  conduct  of  the  hearing.  Decisions  were  made 
upon  the  strict  rules  of  law,  yet  the  act  creating  the  com- 
mission does  not  provide  for  any  appeal  or  exception  to 
certain  rulings  of  the  Board.  If  I  am  right,  the  commission 
should  have  given  the  widest  latitude  in  the  matter  of 
evidence.  The  commission  was  asked  to  permit  the  city  to 
introduce  an  additional  plan,  and  give  them  a  chance  to 
explain  it,  but  this  was  refused.  In  a  question  involving 
from  a  quarter  to  half  a  million  of  dollars,  plenty  of  time 
ought  to  have  been  given  in  its  investigation  and  hearing, 
and  the  widest  range  in  testimony. 

"The  law  under  which  the  commission  was  created  was 
passed  in  1890,  and  as  yet  has  had  no  judicial  interpretation. 
One  thing  is  clear,  however,  that  the  judge  of  the  Superior 


The  O'Donnell  Family  287 

Court  need  not  affirm  the  decree.  Until  he  does  affirm  it 
it  does  not  become  a  law.  In  my  opinion  this  statute  pro- 
vides a  proceeding  in  the  nature  of  an  appeal  from  the  de- 
cree of  the  commission  to  a  single  justice  of  the  superior 
court.  He  can  rehear  the  case  himself  or  recommit  it  to  the 
same  commission,  or  he  can  appoint  one  or  more  persons  to 
hear  the  case,  and  afterwards  affirm  or  disaffirm  the  decree. 
Of  course  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  recommit  it  to  the  same 
commission.  Engineer  Strong  and  the  two  attorneys  for  the 
city  are  as  strongly  as  ever  of  the  opinion  that  the  plan  of 
the  city  was  the  most  fair  and  equitable  one  to  adopt. 

"Think  of  King  Street  and  lower  Pleasant  Street  dug  up 
under  the  ground  twelve  and  one-half  feet  each,  for  people 
to  go  down  and  up  so  as  to  give  the  railroads  the  right  of 
way;  and  Edwards,  Main,  and  upper  Pleasant  streets  sus- 
pended in  the  air  twenty  feet  above  the  earth,  to  'go  up  into 
Goshen  and  down  into  Cummington/  as  long  as  the  earth 
revolves  on  its  axis,  and  thereby  to  shorten  the  lives  of  men, 
women,  and  beasts,  that  the  iron  horse  may  have  a  level  road. 
This  is  sad  and  almost  unbearable.  Petitions  are  frequently 
presented  to  open  new  streets  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
public,  but  here  the  commission  hesitate  not  to  shut  up 
Holyoke  Street  forever.  So  insignificant  has  the  commis- 
sion considered  the  people  that  it  has  provided  but  one  side- 
walk on  any  of  the  crossings  or  bridges  except  Main  Street. 

"  Three  of  the  best  railroad  engineers  in  the  state  were 
appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  investigate  the  grade  cross- 
ings of  the  Commonwealth.  They  did  so,  and  in  1889  they 
reported  to  the  Legislature  relative  to  Northampton  as 
follows:  'Owing  to  the  very  uncertain  element  of  damages 
to  estates,  and  the  difficulty  of  building  a  satisfactory  over- 
head crossing  for  Main  Street,  we  are  inclined  to  favor  the 
plan  which  required  the  railroad  to  be  raised.' 


288  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

"Everything  seems  to  be  in  our  favor  but  the  decree  of 
the  commission.  I  consider  the  execution  of  that  decree  as 
an  everlasting  injury  to  the  city.  Individually  I  would 
oppose  it  with  all  the  honorable  weapons  at  my  command. 
I  would  not  permit  it  to  become  a  law  without  contesting 
every  inch  of  ground  in  the  hope  that  before  the  last  mo- 
ment I  would  get  the  decree  reversed  and  prove  to  the  court 
what  an  eye-sore,  injury,  and  everlasting  damage  it  would 
be  to  the  living  and  to  the  hundreds  of  generations  yet  unborn. 
Aye,  more,  before  the  city  should  be  thus  divided,  and  the 
beauty  and  usefulness  of  the  streets  forever  ruined,  I  would 
take  the  risk,  as  hazardous  as  it  appears,  to  have  the  decree 
annulled,  the  petition  dismissed,  and  everything  continue  in 
its  original  condition.  And  if  the  result  should  be  in  the 
near  or  distant  future  to  compel  us  to  adopt  the  same  plan, 
and  we  to  pay  even  one-half  the  costs,  I  would  console  myself 
in  this  way:  'Under  similar  circumstances  and  the  light  that 
I  had  I  would  do  the  same  thing  over  again.'  " 

The  mayor  also  recommended  the  calling  of  a  mass 
meeting  to  give  the  people  an  opportunity  to  voice  their  feel- 
ings and  wishes.  The  meeting  was  held,  and  the  city  hall 
was  packed  to  the  doors.  Resolutions  were  unanimously 
passed  requesting  the  city  government  to  defend  against  the 
report  to  the  last.  The  City  Council  had  full  confidence  in 
the  legal  and  business  ability  of  the  mayor,  and  it  passed  the 
following  vote: 

"Ordered,  If  the  Common  Council  concurs,  that  the 
mayor  be  and  is  hereby  authorized  to  use  every  honorable 
means  within  his  power,  as  chief  magistrate  of  the  city,  to 
prevent  the  execution  and  confirmation  of  the  decree  of  the 
special  commission  on  a  change  of  grade  in  the  railroad 
crossings  of  the  center  of  Northampton.  While  the  city  is 
in  favor  of  a  change  of  grade  at  said  crossings  we  are  not  in 


The  O'Donnell  Family  289 

favor  of  such  a  change  as  will  ruin  a  large  portion  of  our  city 
for  all  time.  And  we  hereby  authorize  him  to  pledge  the  city's 
credit,  in  his  sound  discretion,  to  carry  out  this  power  and 
authority." 

The  rules  were  suspended,  the  proposal  passed  through  sev- 
eral readings  and  was  adopted  in  concurrence  by  unanimous  vote. 

The  mayor  entered  on  a  vigorous  defence  of  the  city. 
He  prepared  a  paper  asking  the  Legislature  for  an  act  to,  in 
effect,  prohibit  the  Court  from  approving  the  report  of  the 
commission.  The  mayor  headed  a  large  delegation  that 
went  to  Boston  to  appear  before  the  Legislative  Committee 
on  the  subject.  The  big  railroad  committee  afterward  vis- 
ited Northampton.  The  committee  recommended,  and  the 
Legislature  passed,  the  act  prohibiting  ratification  or  ap- 
proval. The  railroads  claimed  that  this  act  was  unconstitu- 
tional and  void,  and  Judge  Aldrich  of  the  Superior  Court  so 
decided.  The  city  appealed  to  the  highest  court  in  the  state, 
which  ruled  by  a  majority  of  one  that  the  act  was  constitu- 
tional and  valid,  thus  favoring  the  city,  to  the  great  joy  of 
its  people.  The  result  was  the  elevation  of  the  railroad 
tracks  over  the  highways  as  we  have  them  to-day. 

When  Mr.  O'Donnell's  year  expired  he  declined  to  be 
a  candidate  for  a  second  term.  But  his  party  would  not  have 
it  so.  At  the  convention  they  nominated  him  unanimously, 
and  sent  a  committee  of  his  friends  to  his  home  to  notify 
him.  So  strong  was  he  with  his  party  that  the  threatened 
opposition  did  not  appear  at  the  convention.  Mr.  O'Donnell 
accepted  and  he  was  reelected  by  a  large  majority.  Of  the 
seven  wards,  he  carried  five,  three  of  which  were  Republican 
wards.  When  his  second  term  expired  the  Democratic  City 
Committee  voted  unanimously  that  he  was  their  choice  for 
mayor  for  a  third  term.  There  were  thirty-five  members  on 
the  committee;  but  he  insisted  on  being  excused. 


290  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Mr.  O'Donnell  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  is  the  first  who 
ever  ran  for  mayor.  His  nationality  and  creed  were  used 
against  him  when  he  first  ran  and  was  defeated,  and  when  he 
next  ran  and  was  elected;  but  this  wholly  disappeared  in  the 
campaign  for  his  second  election.  The  most  popular  Repub- 
lican in  the  city  was  specially  selected  to  be  pitted  against 
him,  and  accepted  the  nomination.  After  Mr.  O'Donnell's 
first  election  by  only  three  votes  he  had  a  Catholic  priest 
officiate  at  his  inauguration.  But  after  his  triumphant 
second  election  he  had  a  Protestant  minister  officiate  at  the 
inauguration.  In  explaining  this  he  said,  "Never  before 
last  year  has  a  Catholic  priest  been  invited  to  officiate  at  a 
Northampton  town  meeting  or  at  any  inauguration  of  mayor. 
To  set  an  example  in  religious  tolerance  I  had  a  Protestant 
minister  this  year  officiate  for  me.  I  may  have  set  a  good 
example  for  some  of  my  Protestant  successors  to  follow/ ' 

That  was  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  no  Protestant 
mayor  since  has  imitated  the  religious  liberality  in  that 
respect  that  was  shown  by  the  Catholic  mayor  whom  so 
many  had  tried  to  defeat  on  account  of  his  religion. 

In  1896  Mr.  O'Donnell  was  nominated  by  his  party  for 
Attorney-General,  and  in  1900  he  was  nominated  for  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor of  the  Commonwealth.  He  was  defeated 
with  his  party  in  both  cases. 

Mr.  O'Donnell  has  been  a  member  of  the  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  and  The  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians;  also  of  the 
Father  Mathew  Total  Abstinence  and  Benevolent  Society  of 
Northampton,  which  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  organ- 
izing more  than  forty-four  years  ago,  and  for  which  he  has 
done  much.  About  ten  years  ago  the  society  needed  funds 
to  remodel  their  hall,  and  Mr.  O'Donnell  made  them  a  dona- 
tion of  one  thousand  dollars.  This  society  has  done  in  the 
years  that  have  passed  a  great  work  in  this  city  for  sobriety 


,°1» 


"The  Lookout,"  Residence  of  Judge  John  B.  O'Donnell 


View  from  the  north 


"The  Lookout,"  Residence  of  Judge  John  B.  O'Donnell 

View  from  the  front 


291 


The  O'Donnell  Family 293 

and  thrifty  habits  among  its  members,  who  in  numbers  have 
sometimes  reached  nearly  two  hundred.  Very  many  men 
now  old  and  gray,  and  young  men,  too,  owe  to  it  the  foundation 
of  their  temperate  lives. 

It  was  as  a  lawyer  that  Mr.  O'Donnell  was  best  known. 
His  practice  was  large  and  varied.  Blessed  with  a  splendid 
constitution  he  was  able  to  give  to  his  work,  which  included 
five  murder  cases,  more  time  than  most  men  would  have 
found  possible. 

He  was  never  asked  to  put  into  writing  a  gentleman's 
agreement  among  his  professional  associates.  His  word  was 
as  good  as  his  bond. 

He  is  genial,  pleasant,  and  always  courteous,  and  is  a 
favorite  with  his  professional  brethren.  But  he  is  aggres- 
sively resentful  if  he  considers  himself  unfairly  dealt  with. 

He  was  the  only  Irishman  at  the  Hampshire  County 
bar  when  admitted  to  it,  and  Irishmen  were  seldom  drawn 
then  for  juries.  Some  of  the  lawyers,  who  had  not  lived  in 
the  county  as  long  as  he,  endeavored  on  a  few  occasions  to 
help  their  cases  against  him  by  reminding  the  jury  that  he 
was  Irish.  At  such  tactics  he  was  not  dull,  and  he  never 
failed  to  return  sharper  words  than  he  received.  There 
were  times  when  he  hit  back  with  a  vigor  that  was  surpris- 
ingly effective.  Once,  in  particular,  his  opponent,  who  had 
begun  the  trouble,  asked  the  court  for  protection  or  he  would 
retire  from  the  case.  The  court  asked  Mr.  O'Donnell  to 
reply. 

He  arose  and  said:  "If  your  Honor  please,  I  have  tried 
cases  with  the  leading  lawyers  of  this  and  neighboring  coun- 
ties without  a  particle  of  personal  friction,  but  my  learned 
brother  has  often  seemed  to  think  he  could  gain  some  ad- 
vantage by  reminding  the  jury  that  I  am  Irish.  A  man 
may  call  me  Irish  or  Paddy  in  jest  and  I  will  pleasantly  joke 


294  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

with  him;  but  when  he  does  it  to  prejudice  the  jury  against 
my  client  and  his  case  I  will  resent  it  here  and  anywhere." 

In  violation  of  the  rules  there  was  applause  in  the  court 
room.  The  judge  saw  that  Mr.  O'Donnell  had  been  wronged, 
and  he  simply  said:  "Gentlemen,  don't  forget  that  you  are 
gentlemen.    Please  proceed  with  the  case." 

Mr.  O'Donnell  as  a  ball  player  was  very  popular,  es- 
pecially with  the  young  men  of  the  county,  thousands  of 
whom  knew  him  well,  though  he  did  not  know  them.  They 
grew  to  manhood  with  him  and  were  on  his  juries,  so  that 
such  attacks  on  him  always  reacted.  He  won  every  case  in 
which  he  was  thus  assailed. 

But  the  finest  physique  may  be  overworked,  and  in  1903 
Mr.  O'Donnell  broke  down.  His  nerves  succumbed  to  the 
great  strain  to  which  they  had  been  put.  For  a  year  he  was 
unable  to  do  any  work,  and  he  made  the  restoration  of  his 
health  his  only  business.  The  winter  of  1903-4  was  spent 
in  the  West  Indies,  whence  he  returned  much  improved,  and 
he  soon  began  to  attend  to  his  law  business  again.  His 
connection  with  the  first  jury  case  after  his  return  to  practice 
was  thus  commented  on  by  one  of  the  local  papers: 

"The  last  jury  case  on  the  criminal  list,  that  of  Oscar 
Higgins  for  inhuman  treatment  of  a  horse,  went  to  the  jury 
in  the  superior  court  at  eleven  o'clock  this  forenoon  after 
vociferous  arguments  by  John  B.  O'Donnell  and  District 
Attorney  Malone,  who  had  an  oratorical  battle  royal.  Mr. 
O'Donnell  celebrated  his  re-appearance  in  the  superior  court, 
after  a  long  absence  due  to  ill  health,  by  delivering  an  able 
and  rousing  plea  on  behalf  of  the  prisoner.  He  spoke  at 
considerable  length,  and  so  well  and  so  like  himself  of  former 
days  that  the  loungers  present  listened  with  intense  interest. 
The  popularity  of  Mr.  O'Donnell  with  his  fellow  lawyers  and 
with  the  public  was  well  evidenced  by  the  general  expres- 


The  O'Donnell  Family  295 

sions  of  pleasure  at  seeing  him  again  before  a  superior  court 
and  hearing  him  deliver  so  excellent  a  plea." 

The  jury  acquitted  the  prisoner. 

Mr.  O'Donnell  married,  November  25,  1869,  Bridget  T. 
Coughlin,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Honora  Coughlin  of  Hay- 
denville.  She  died  December  14,  1887,  leaving  five  children 
—  James  C,  George  P.,  John  B.,  Jr.,  Charles  H.,  and  Edward 
J.  O'Donnell.  Nine  years  later  Mr.  O'Donnell  married 
Mary  E.  Fitzgerald  of  Worcester. 

To  be  nearer  his  business  Mr.  O'Donnell,  in  1894,  re- 
luctantly moved  from  Florence  to  the  Center,  and  he  is  now 
living  on  the  northerly  brow  of  Round  Hill  overlooking  the 
valley.  His  home,  without  question,  occupies  the  most  sightly 
and  delightful  spot  in  the  city.  He  has  called  his  dwelling 
"The  Lookout."  He  can,  any  fair  day,  enjoy  a  panoramic 
view  of  the  whole  basin  and  expanse  of  country  within  the 
surrounding  mountains,  with  the  majestic  Connecticut  River 
in  plain  sight  flowing  on  its  way  to  Long  Island  Sound. 
The  house  on  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain  in  Franklin  County  is 
also  in  plain  sight.  Two  views  of  his  house  are  herewith 
published.  The  view  from  each  of  the  three  lower  back 
piazzas  is  fine,  but  the  view  from  the  fourth,  where  the  flag 
hangs,  is  magnificent.  It  cannot  be  equaled  except  from  the 
mountain  houses.  Often  the  tops  of  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains can  plainly  be  seen  from  his  dwelling  while  the  city  is 
buried  in  fog.  The  famous  Round  Hill  hotel  of  the  "fifties" 
stood  on  the  same  ridge  only  a  short  distance  from  "The 
Lookout."  The  back  piazza  of  the  hotel  was  about  on  a 
level  with  the  lowest  back  piazza  of  "The  Lookout."  Jenny 
Lind  sat  on  the  back  piazza  of  the  hotel  viewing  the  gran- 
deur of  the  scene  when  she  declared  Northampton  to  be 
"The  Paradise  of  America." 

In  the  summer  of  1915  Judge  William  P.  Strickland  of  the 


296  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

District  Court  died.  In  looking  around  for  his  successor, 
Governor  David  I.  Walsh  learned  that  Mr.  O'Donnell  would 
accept  the  position,  and  he  nominated  him  for  the  office. 
The  Governor's  Council,  all  the  members  of  which  but  one 
were  Republican,  unanimously  confirmed  the  nomination;  and 
the  appointment  was  generally  approved  by  the  people  irre- 
spective of  party.  Mr.  O'Donnell  has  now  acted  as  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  District  Court  of  Hampshire  for  nearly  a  year, 
and  so  far  as  can  be  learned  he  has  won  universal  approval. 

Mr.  O'Donnell,  as  has  been  said,  has  never  sought  politi- 
cal office;  yet  with  the  earnestness  and  sincerity  of  his  nature, 
combined  with  natural  executive  ability  of  a  high  order,  he 
has  filled  every  office  that  he  has  taken  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  public  and  the  pleasure  of  his  friends. 

When  he  was  asked,  once  upon  a  time,  if  he  could  give 
from  his  experience  any  suggestions  to  young  men  which 
might  be  of  value  in  the  work  of  life,  he  replied : 

"  The  boy  should  bend  every  energy  to  get  an  education, 
and  in  doing  so  take  plenty  of  exercise  to  keep  healthy.  His 
parents  should  encourage  him,  of  course.  The  young  man  on 
reaching  maturity  should  weigh  well  and  decide  what  business 
or  profession  he  is  best  fitted  for,  build  his  goal  in  imagination 
as  high  as  he  thinks  it  possible  for  him  to  reach,  then  march 
and  keep  his  mind  and  eyes  on  it,  and  bend  every  energy  to 
reach  that  goal,  eschew  rum  and  tobacco  as  he  would  a 
rattlesnake,  be  honest,  truthful,  and  courteous,  and,  ten 
chances  to  one,  he  will  reach  his  goal." 

It  seems  worth  while,  in  closing  this  sketch,  to  refer 
briefly  to  the  temperament  of  Judge  O'Donnell,  in  his  treat- 
ment of  those  who  come  before  him  in  the  District  Court 
charged  with  various  offences,  particularly  erring  youth  and 
those  accused  of  drunkenness.  In  this  connection,  the 
Northampton  Herald,  of  July  18,  1916,  says: 


The  O'Dmnell  Family  297 

"Judge  John  B.  O'Donnell  of  the  District  Court  estab- 
lished a  precedent  when  he  contributed  ten  dollars  to  the 
Police  Relief  Association.  This  is  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  association,  which  was  established  about  fifteen  years 
ago,  that  any  outside  person  has  contributed  money  to  its 
treasury. 

"The  money  was  contributed  by  Judge  O'Donnell  in 
recognition  of  good  work  done  by  the  members  of  the  police 
department.  During  the  week  of  July  4,  the  O'Donnell 
building  on  Market  Street  was  the  scene  of  damages  inflicted 
by  a  party  of  boys.  The  judge,  on  hearing  of  the  actions  of  the 
boys,  notified  Chief  Gilbert  and  asked  that  something  be  done. 

"He  did  not  desire  to  prosecute  the  boys,  but  wanted 
work  of  that  sort  stopped.  Captain  M.  J.  Lyons  was  assigned 
to  the  case,  and  after  a  short  investigation  brought  ten  boys, 
ranging  from  seven  to  twelve  years  old,  to  the  police  depart- 
ment. The  boys  admitted  that  they  were  guilty,  and  Judge 
O'Donnell  was  notified.  He  stated  that  the  damage  would 
be  covered  by  ten  dollars,  and  the  boys  agreed  to  pay. 

"Each  contributed  one  dollar.  This  morning  Captain 
Lyons  went  to  the  District  Court  to  give  the  judge  the  money. 
Judge  O'Donnell  thanked  the  Captain  for  the  fine  work  that 
he  had  done,  and  told  him  to  keep  the  money  as  a  contribu- 
tion to  the  Relief  Association. 

"The  Captain  expressed  the  thanks  of  the  association  to 
Judge  O'Donnell  and  stated  that  the  'boys'  would  appreciate 
this  gift  very  much.  This  morning  the  money  was  given  to 
Cornelius  Mahoney,  treasurer  of  the  association,  and  Judge 
O'Donnell  now  looms  up  big  in  the  estimation  of  the  police- 
men. His  name  will  go  down  in  the  police  annals  as  one  who 
appreciates  the  good  services  of  the  police  department. 

"The  versatile  temperament  of  Judge  O'Donnell  is  be- 
coming more  and  more  apparent  following  each  session  of  the 


298  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

District  Court.  It  was  only  a  short  time  ago  that  a  young 
man  was  arraigned  in  court  and  the  judge  after  hearing  his 
case  decided  to  let  him  go. 

"The  young  man  stated  that  he  wanted  to  go  to  his 
home  in  New  Jersey,  but  did  not  have  the  money  to  pay  his 
fare.  The  judge  was  impressed  by  the  boy's  sincerity  and 
ordered  Chief  W.  G.  Gilbert  to  buy  a  ticket  for  the  boy  and 
said  that  he  would  pay  for  it. 

"The  judge  has  proved  to  be  a  friend  in  need  to  many 
of  the  wayward  in  this  city,  and  his  lenient  policy  has  brought 
excellent  results.  During  his  term  as  judge  of  the  District 
Court  he  has  acted  in  the  capacity  of  advisor  and  friend,  and 
his  judgment  has  been  very  fair. 

"His  action  in  recognizing  the  policemen  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  city  adds  one  more  meritorious 
action  to  his  already  long  record." 


THEOBALD  M.  CONNOR 

Attorney  and  Many  Times  Successfully-chosen  Representative 
of  the  Democratic  Party 

THE  well-known  Irish  historian,  O'Hart,  in  his  "His- 
tory of  Irish  Pedigrees,"  tells  a  most  interesting 
story  about  the  rise  of  the  Connor  and  O'Connor 
families  in  Ireland;  how  they  took  their  name  from  Con, 
one  of  their  chiefs,  and  from  Ciar,  their  great  ancestor,  thus 
making  the  name  Conciar,  or  Conchobhar,  and,  in  its  Anglicized 
form,  Connor. 

This  family  furnished  many  kings  to  Ireland,  whose  last 
king  was  Roderick  O'Connor.  The  name  Connor  is  the  oldest 
known  spelling  of  the  family  name  since  Conchobhar.  The 
O'Connors,  like  the  O'Neils  and  O'Meglachlins  and  a  few 
other  old  families  of  Ireland,  trace  their  histories  back  to 
many  hundreds  of  years  before  the  Christian  era. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  mentioned  that  all  Irish 
names  originally  had  an  0'  before  them,  and  while  many  keep 
it  to  this  day,  together  with  the  Mc,  the  majority  have  dropped 
the  prefix  and  remain  simply  Murphy,  Kelly,  or  Sweeney, 
as  the  case  may  be.  The  name  O'Connor,  in  its  earliest 
days,  was  one  to  be  proud  of,  too,  for  it  signified  a  kind  heart 
and  a  generous  nature.  The  Connors  and  Conertys  were  really 
called  "helpers,"  and  did  not  belie  their  names,  if  history  is 
correct. 

From  a  portion  of  the  ancient  inheritance  of  this  great 
family  the  present  barony,  Iraghticonnor,  takes  its  name.    The 

299 


300  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

last  king  of  Ireland,  Roderick  O'Connor,  was  of  this  family, 
who  were  kings  of  Connaught,  and  who  also  occupied  a 
very  large  portion  of  the  province  of  Leinster,  called  Offaly. 
Another  branch  of  the  O'Connor  family  were  lords  of  Kerry. 
From  this  latter  branch  of  the  family  Theobald  M.  Connor  is 
descended. 

Brian  Connor,  the  eldest  son  of  Nial  Mor,  was  the  first 
king  of  Connaught.  He  had  as  his  coat  of  arms  an  oak  tree, 
and  while  the  American  branch  of  the  family  have  never 
boasted  of  any  coat  of  arms,  it  is  generally  conceded,  by 
good  authorities  in  heraldry,  that  they  could  rightfully  claim 
the  crest  of  Brian  Connor. 

Theobald  Mathew  Connor  is  a  son  of  Michael  Hannifin 
Connor,  who  was  born  near  Tralee,  County  Kerry,  Ireland, 
in  1835,  and  of  Margaret  Foley  Connor,  who  was  born  near 
Rathcormack,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  in  1838.  His  grand- 
mothers, before  marriage,  were  Margaret  Hannifin  and  Han- 
norah  Connor.  His  father  was  of  pure  Irish  Celtic  stock, 
and  his  mother  was  of  Norman,  Welsh,  and  Irish  Celtic 
stock.  His  father  was  by  trade  a  machinist  and  tool  maker, 
and  came  to  this  country  with  a  relative  in  the  early  forties. 
He  lived  in  Holyoke,  Chicopee,  and  Springfield  until  his 
marriage,  when  he  settled  in  Florence. 

Mr.  Connor's  mother's  family  came  to  Florence  about 
1846.  His  mother,  Margaret  Foley,  and  her  father,  Bernard 
Foley,  were  the  first  to  come.  Later  his  grandmother  and  the 
remaining  children  of  the  family  came  and  settled  in  Florence. 
Very  few  people  dwelt  in  that  section  of  Northampton  then. 
It  was  just  about  the  time  that  the  "Old  Community" 
settlement  was  breaking  up.  When  the  Foleys  arrived  there, 
the  only  other  Irish  family  in  the  village  was  one  by  the 
name  of  Hennessey.  Direct  descendants  of  this  family  are 
still  living  in  Florence.    An  Irish  family  named  Hickey  lived 


Theobald  M.  Connor 


301 


Theobald  M.  Connor  303 

about  a  mile  from  the  village  on  the  road  to  Easthampton, 
and  direct  descendants  of  this  family  are  also  living  in  Florence 
today. 

While  these  were  by  no  means  the  earliest  Irish  families 
to  come  to  Northampton — for  at  least  a  score  of  Irish  came 
to  the  Center  in  the  twenty  years  immediately  following  the 
settlement  of  the  town  —  these  three  families,  Hennessey, 
Hickey  and  Foley  and  another  family  by  the  name  of  Foley 
then  living  in  "Shepard's  Hollow"  (Leeds),  were  the  first 
Irish  who  settled  in  the  western  end  of  the  town. 

Mr.  Connor's  grandfather,  Bernard  Foley,  went  to  Port- 
land, Connecticut,  in  search  of  work,  shortly  after  arriving  in 
Florence.  He  had  been  a  school-teacher  in  Ireland.  Teach- 
ers were  then  proscribed  there  among  the  Catholics,  and  he 
was  driven  from  his  own  country  by  persecution.  As  he  was 
unfitted  for  the  heavy  work  which  he  was  obliged  to  take 
up  in  Portland,  he  died  in  that  village  not  long  after  going 
there. 

The  experiences  of  the  Foley  family  in  Florence  are 
typical  of  those  of  all  who  lived  in  that  village  in  the  early 
days.  It  was  one  long  hard  struggle  for  the  widow  Foley 
and  her  little  family  to  get  on.  They  had  a  good  friend  in 
Mr.  Samuel  L.  Hill,  who  helped  them  to  build  a  home  in 
what  was  then  expected  to  be  the  center  of  the  growing  vil- 
lage, for  the  railroad  projected  from  Northampton  to  Wil- 
liamsburg was  to  follow  Mill  River  and  have  its  village  depot 
either  at  the  foot  or  at  the  head  of  old  South  Street. 

According  to  Mr.  A.  G.  Hill,  the  best  living  authority 
on  Florence  history,  there  was  no  house  on  the  south  side 
of  Mill  River  when  the  Foley  homestead  was  built;  but  it 
is  Mr.  Connor's  belief  that  the  Dorsey  house,  so  called,  near 
the  present  Brush  Shop  bridge,  was  built  before  the  Foley 
house  on  South  Street.    There  were  two  houses  out  on  the 


304  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Easthampton  road,  the  Child  house  and  the  Hickey  house, 
about  a  mile  away  from  the  village.  The  great  influx  of  Irish 
people  into  Florence,  which  had  such  a  marked  and  benefi- 
cent effect  on  the  life  of  the  village,  came  in  the  two  suc- 
ceeding decades  from  1850  to  1870,  and  these  people  settled 
under  Mr.  Samuel  L.  Hill's  kindly  guidance  and  with  his 
help  mostly  on  the  south  side  of  Mill  River,  or  on  the  Old 
Community  Street,  which  is  the  present  Nonotuck  Street. 

Many  interesting  things  come  down  to  us  from  this 
early  period,  most  of  them  already  chronicled.  One  of  them, 
however,  has  not  been  mentioned,  viz.,  the  interest  which 
Wendell  Phillips,  who  lived  several  summers  on  the  Lilly 
place,  took  in  the  people  and  especially  in  the  children  of  the 
village.  Many  times  he  walked  over  Sandy  Hill  with  Mr. 
Connor's  mother,  Margaret  Foley,  then  a  very  young  girl 
working  in  the  mill.  He  talked  to  her,  as  he  did  to  the  other 
children,  about  history,  inciting  in  them  a  desire  to  study 
and  to  learn.  Largely  because  of  this,  Mrs.  Connor  became 
a  keen  student  of  history,  and,  for  that  matter,  so  did  all 
her  sisters  and  her  brother.  They,  like  others  in  the  village, 
read  and  studied  at  night  in  the  family  circle.  Perhaps 
next  to  the  "Old  Community"  spirit,  which  had  its  source 
in  Mr.  Samuel  L.  Hill  and  the  good  men  and  women  who 
were  associated  with  him  in  the  "Old  Community"  experi- 
ment, the  influence  of  Wendell  Phillips  has  had  more  to  do 
with  the  strong  leaning  toward  self  education  always  shown 
by  the  people  of  Florence  than  any  other  cause.  Several  of 
the  most  successful  business  men  of  the  valley  came  into 
Florence  practically  penniless  to  imbibe  the  Florence  spirit  and 
become  prosperous,  high-minded,  clear-thinking,  noble  men. 

In  those  early  days  there  was  no  Catholic  Church  in 
this  vicinity,  and  the  few  Catholic  people  living  here  had  to 
depend  for  spiritual  help  on  missionary  priests,  who  came 


A 


Mrs.  Theobald  M.  Connor 


305 


Theobald  M.  Connor  307 

through  from  Chicopee  on  their  way  to  Brattleboro  every 
two  or  three  months.  The  most  notable  of  these  priests  was 
Father  O'Callaghan,  who  frequently  said  Mass  before  the 
church  was  established  in  Northampton  in  the  widow  Foley's 
house.  He  had  been  a  tutor  to  the  sons  of  a  great  English 
statesman  and  was  something  of  a  literary  man  as  well  as  a 
good  theologian.  He  clung  to  the  old  Biblical  notion  that 
money  loaned  should  not  earn  interest,  on  the  ground  that 
interest  is  really  usury.  When  he  had  finally  an  established 
church  he  refused  to  accept  pew  rent,  and  depended  on  the 
voluntary  contributions  of  the  worshipers. 

He  wrote  three  books,  one  on  "  Schisms,"  one  on  "  Usury," 
and  a  third  on  "  Free  Lovers, "  which  was  then  a  subject  much 
under  discussion  in  this  section  of  the  country.  He  was  a 
kindly  man  and  left  a  very  pronounced  impression  on  the  old 
Irish  families  of  the  western  end  of  the  city. 

The  kindly  quality  of  this  village  spirit,  and  its  real 
neighborliness,  allowed  for  no  religious  or  social  intolerance. 
All  worked  and  strove  forward  together.  There  never  was, 
and  there  is  not  today,  among  those  who  are  steeped  in  the 
old  Florence  spirit,  any  room  for  narrowness  or  bigotry.  In 
that  village,  if  anywhere  in  this  broad  land,  were  developed 
people  of  simple  living  and  high  thinking,  people  of  marked 
modesty  and  marked  success  in  life's  struggles. 

Michael  and  Margaret  Connor,  Mr.  Connor's  parents, 
had  six  children,  Thomas,  who  died  in  childhood;  John,  who 
was  a  machinist  and  tool  maker,  and  who  died  when  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age;  Mary,  who  taught  many  years  in 
the  public  schools  of  Northampton,  and  who  died  when  about 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  two  young  children  who  died 
in  infancy,  besides  Mr.  Connor,  who  is  the  only  surviving 
member  of  his  immediate  family. 

Theobald  Mathew  Connor  was  born  in  Florence,  August 


308  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

6,  1874.  He  attended  the  public  schools,  and  graduated  from 
the  Northampton  High  School  in  1893.  He  then  entered 
Yale  College,  and  graduated  there  with  honors  in  1897,  with 
the  degree  of  B.A.  While  in  college  he  specialized  in  econom- 
ics and  history.  He  is  a  member  of  the  high  scholarship 
society,  Phi  Beta  Kappa.  He  graduated  from  Yale  Law 
School  in  1889,  being  one  of  the  five  honor  men  of  his  class 
with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  He  was  one  of  the  commencement 
Townsend  Prize  Speakers  of  his  year.  While  in  the  law  school 
he  became  a  member  of  Phi  Delta  Phi  and  Corbey  Court. 

Immediately  after  completing  his  studies  he  returned  to 
Northampton  and  opened  a  law  office.  He  soon  obtained  a 
good  practice,  but  his  manifest  fitness  for  public  service 
caused  him  to  accept  early  calls  in  that  direction.  He  was 
easily  chosen  city  solicitor  for  his  native  city,  and  held  the 
office  for  the  three  years,  1902,  1903,  and  1904.  He  was 
elected  mayor  of  the  city  in  1905  and  1906,  and  was  the 
youngest  incumbent  ever  honored  with  that  office.  His 
second  election  was  by  a  phenomenal  majority  unapproached 
before  or  since.  While  mayor  he  was  an  active  leader  in 
several  important  public  improvements — the  establishment  of 
the  Public  Gardens  on  Main  Street,  in  the  place  of  old  resi- 
dence and  unpleasant -looking  business  property,  and  the 
opening  of  a  long -needed  new  approach  to  Maple  Street, 
under  the  railroad  tracks  from  Main  Street. 

In  religious  belief  Mr.  Connor  is  a  Catholic  and  is  an 
attendant  at  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church. 

He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  as  such  has  been  much  honored  in  the  last  few  years. 
He  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  National  Con- 
vention in  1916,  and  attended.  He  was  temporary  chairman 
of  the  Massachusetts  Democratic  State  Convention  in  1916. 
The  same  year,   as    candidate   of  his  party  for    Congress 


Youthful  Descendants  of  (Connor)  Irish  kings 


309 


Another  Portrait  of  one  of  the  Connor  Children 


311 


Theobald  M.  Connor  313 

in  his  district,  he  made  a  magnificent  but  unavailing  fight 
against  the  nominee  of  the  opposite  party  and  the  predatory 
corporation  class  interests  attached  to  that  organization. 

Mr.  Connor  married,  August  21,  1906,  Ellen  Hedican 
Duggan,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren: Neil  Anthony  Connor  (whose  first  name  was  derived 
from  that  of  Nial  Mor),  born  August  27,  1907;  Margaret 
Foley  Connor,  born  September  1,  1909;  and  Virginia  Mary 
Connor,  born  July  15,  1914. 

Mr.  Connor  is  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  bars,  and  also  of  those  of  the  United  States 
courts  in  the  first  and  second  districts. 

Mr.  Connor  was  for  fifteen  years  president  of  the  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  Society  of  St.  Mary's  Parish.  He  has  been 
for  many  years  a  director  and  treasurer  of  the  People's  Insti- 
tute of  Northampton.  For  several  years  he  was  president  of 
the  Northampton  High  School  Alumni  Association,  and  he  is 
a  director  of  the  Dickinson  Hospital.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Elks,  and  of  the  Northampton 
Country  Club. 


^SF 


CHAUNCEY  H.  PIERCE 

Business  Man  and  Financier 

CHAUNCEY  H.  PIERCE,  one  of  the  best  known  of  the 
prominent  business  men  in  Northampton,  is  a  native 
of  the  town  of  Amherst,  where  he  was  born  May  16, 
1848.  He  was  the  son  of  Chauncey  and  Florilla  Cooley 
Pierce.  Both  of  these  parents  were  of  distinguished  English 
and  Puritan  descent.  The  father,  Chauncey  Pierce,  was  a 
descendant  of  John  Pers,  whose  ancestor  was  prominent  in 
the  fifteenth  century  in  England,  and  served  his  country  in 
that  time  at  the  battle  of  Bosworth  Field.  Abraham,  a 
lineal  descendant  (the  first  who  came  to  this  country,  and 
who  spelled  the  name  in  its  present  form)  came  to  Massa- 
chusetts in  1633,  lived  in  Plymouth,  and  paid  taxes  there  in 
1624.  He  had  several  grants  of  land  from  the  government, 
and  was  a  soldier  under  Miles  Standish. 

John  Pers,  a  descendant  of  the  same  family,  came  from 
England  in  1634  and  settled  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts, 
and  his  homestead  still  remains  in  the  Pierce  family. 

Chauncey  H.  Pierce's  mother,  Florilla  Cooley,  was  born 
in  Sunderland,  Massachusetts.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
Benjamin  Cooley,  who  settled  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 

314 


Chauncey  H.  Pierce 


315 


Chauncey  H.  Pierce  317 


and  who  served  thirteen  years,  at  different  periods,  on  the 
board  of  Selectmen  of  that  town,  a  part  of  the  time  with 
Miles  Morgan  and  John  Pynchon.  Chauncey  Pierce,  the 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  carriage-maker  in 
Amherst. 

The  son,  Chauncey  H.,  came  to  Northampton  from 
Amherst  when  twelve  years  of  age,  and  started  his  business 
career  in  the  bookstore  of  the  late  Joseph  Marsh.  He  re- 
mained there  about  five  years,  and  later  entered  the  clothing 
store  of  Merritt  Clark.  He  was  afterward  in  the  insurance 
office  of  Allen  and  Pratt  for  a  time,  and  then  started  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account.  In  1870  he  became  a  partner  of 
A.  Perry  Peck,  then  the  leading  insurance  agent  of  the  town. 

For  ten  years  the  partnership  continued  with  unvarying 
success,  but  in  1880  Mr.  Peck  retired  and  Mr.  Pierce  was 
left  to  conduct  the  business  alone.  His  work,  however,  has 
not  been  confined  to  insurance,  but  has  comprehended  the 
management  of  real  estate  and  mortgages,  while  he  has  been 
interested  also  in  many  financial  and  manufacturing 
enterprises. 

With  Alexander  McCallum,  Mr.  Pierce  organized  the 
Northampton  Electric  Light  Company,  and  was  for  many 
years  its  manager  and  treasurer.  He  has  likewise  figured  in 
the  development  of  many  other  large  business  enterprises. 
He  is  now  a  director  of  the  Northampton  National  Bank, 
president  of  the  Cooley  Dickinson  Hospital,  trustee  of  the 
People's  Institute,  member  of  the  board  of  Park  Commis- 
sioners, and  a  commissioner  of  trust  funds  of  the  city.  He 
is  also  a  trustee  of  the  Academy  of  Music. 

Mr.  Pierce  was  never  actively  interested  in  politics,  but 
has  been  an  influential  member  of  the  Republican  party 
since  its  organization.  He  was  called  on  to  serve  the  old 
town  government  toward  its  close,  as  a  member  of  the  last 


318  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

board  of  selectmen,  and  when  the  new  city  government  was 
introduced  he  served  as  president  of  the  Common  Council 
for  three  years.  In  the  Quarter-Millennial  Celebration  of 
the  city,  in  1904,  he  was  prominent  as  a  member  of  the 
finance  committee,  which  had  a  difficult  problem  to  handle 
with  a  somewhat  restricted  city  appropriation. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Church  parish.  On  Octo- 
ber 13,  1870,  he  married  Isabella  D.  Lewis  of  Northampton, 
a  daughter  of  Lucius  and  Arabella  (Warner)  Lewis,  both 
natives  of  Suffield,  Connecticut.  They  have  had  two  chil- 
dren, a  son  and  daughter.     The  latter  lives  with  her  parents. 

Mr.  Pierce  lost  his  father  in  childhood.  His  mother 
lived,  with  mental  faculties  unimpaired,  to  the  great  age  of 
ninety-two  years,  and  made  her  home  with  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 


The  Draper  Family 


Braver. 


The  Draper  Coat  of  Arms 


319 


THE  DRAPER  FAMILY 

One  of  the  Oldest  and  Most  Respectable  Families  in  America 
Descended  from  English  Ancestry 

THOMAS  DRAPER,  of  Heptonstall,  England,  was 
the  ancestor  of  this  family.  He  was  born  in  the 
village  of  Fairfax,  Yorkshire,  and  his  kindred  came 
of  an  ancient  and  numerous  race.  Thomas  was  a  clothier 
by  trade,  and  is  said  to  have  drawn  his  name  from  that 
occupation,  just  as  most  of  the  old  English  families  took  their 
names  from  the  name  of  their  occupation  or  trade. 

The  children  of  this  English  ancestor  were  Thomas, 
John,  William,  James,  Mary,  and  Martha,  and  all  were  born 
in  England.  James  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  settle  in  New 
England  about  the  time  he  came  of  age,  and,  therefore,  was 
the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  American  Drapers.  From 
1640  to  1650  he  was  a  pioneer  and  "proprietor"  of  the  town 
of  Roxbury.  Such  was  his  exceeding  strict  piety  that  he 
was  known  as  "James,  the  Puritan.,,  He  was  the  owner  of 
several  looms  and  followed  his  trade,  which  had  been  that  of 
a  clothier  in  the  old  country.  Here  is  an  ancient  rhyme,  of 
interest,  in  connection  with  this  family: 

"  'What  craftsman  art  thou/  asked  the  king, 
'  I  pray  thee  tell  me  trowe? ' 
'  I  am  a  draper,  Sir,  by  trade, 
Now  tell  me  what  art  thou?'  " 

The  rightful  connection  between  the  Drapers  of  Hepton- 
stall, England,  and  of  James  Draper  and  his  descendants  of 

321 


322  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  is  thoroughly  established,  not 
alone  by  the  English  records,  but  by  several  affidavits  made 
and  proven  by  descendants  of  the  family.  Only  one  of 
these  affidavits  —  the  most  interesting  one  —  can  be  quoted 
here: 

"John  Draper,  of  Dedham,  aged  eighty-two  years  or 
thereabouts,  under  oath  declares  that  he  hath  often  heard 
his  father  and  mother  say  that  the  deponent's  grandfather 
was  Thomas  Draper,  who  lived  in  Heptonstall  Brige  or 
Bridge,  in  Yorkshire,  and  was  a  clothier  by  trade,  and  had 
sons  Thomas,  John,  William,  and  James,  the  deponent's 
father.  The  three  former  died  in  England,  never  came 
into  this  country,  and  two  sisters,  Mary  and  Martha,  also 
died  there.  The  deponent's  mother's  surname  was  Stans- 
field,  daughter  of  Gideon  Stansfield,  alias  Steadfast,  of  the 
place  in  Yorkshire,  near  the  said  Bridge,  blacksmith  by  same 
trade,  who  had  only  one  son,  that  had  not  the  use  of  speech, 
and  the  deponent's  said  mother,  Miriam,  and  Abigail,  who 
came  together  into  this  country,  and  who  left  their  said 
father  Gideon,  in  Yorkshire,  and  who  had  estate  there,  but 
the  deponent  knows  not  what  became  thereof." 

New  England,  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  Suffolk,  ss 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  25th  April,  1742. 

"Then  John  Draper  made  solemn  oath  to  the  truth  of 
the  above  declaration  by  him  subscribed,  before  Wm.  Dudley, 
Justice  of  the  Peace  for  said  Province." 

The  Draper  men  were  mostly  pious,  and  they  were 
physically  vigorous  to  a  marked  degree.  This  anecdote  is 
related  of  one  of  them  in  the  old  country  by  that  person's 
granddaughter  Mrs.  Jemima  (Draper)  Turner.  In  her  old 
age  she  often  used  to  tell  the  story  of  how  her  grandfather 
met  his  death.     She  said  that  he  lost  his  life  from  an  injury 


John  L.  Draper 


323 


The  Draper  Family  325 


sustained  in  wrestling  on  a  May  Day.  This  day  was  kept 
as  a  festival,  after  the  English  custom;  a  may-pole  was  set 
up,  about  which  wrestling,  quoits,  and  other  games  were 
played.  On  such  a  day  there  appeared  a  person  claiming 
to  be  champion  of  the  village  and  he  challenged  any  one  to 
enter  the  ring  with  him.  A  number  accepted  the  challenge, 
but  he  threw  them  all  down  so  easily  that  at  last  no  other 
person  was  willing  to  compete  with  him.  Then  inquiries 
were  made  for  James  Draper,  and  it  was  remarked  that  he 
would  be  a  good  match  for  the  champion.  He  arrived  soon 
afterward,  with  his  wife,  Abigail,  on  horseback  behind  him. 
The  crowd  urged  him  to  dismount  and  try  a  bout  with  the 
stranger.  At  first  he  declined,  but  the  crowd  almost  pulled 
him  from  his  saddle,  in  spite  of  Mistress  Abigail,  who  held 
on  to  his  coat  as  long  as  she  could.  However,  when  he  met 
his  antagonist  in  the  ring,  he  made  short  work  of  laying  the 
fellow  on  his  back.  The  cry  of  "unfair"  was  set  up,  and 
he  made  ready  to  try  again.  At  the  word  to  begin  the 
stranger  was  once  again  laid  on  his  back  by  the  stalwart 
Draper.  But  in  doing  this,  the  second  time,  he  tore  a  sinew 
in  his  leg,  and  the  injury  proved  to  be  permanent.  He  was 
carried  to  his  house,  and  was  never  able  to  go  out  again. 

James  and  Abigail  are  buried  in  the  First  Parish  ceme- 
tery at  Dedham,  Massachusetts,  and  the  following  is  in- 
scribed on  the  stone  that  marks  their  grave: 

2  Sam.  I,  23.  They  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives  & 
in  their  death  they  were  not  divided. 

"The  stroke  of  death  hath  laid  my  head 
Down  in  this  dark  &  silent  bed. 
The  trump  shall  sound,  I  hope  to  rise 
To  meet  my  Saviour  in  the  skies." 


326  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

JOHN  L.  DRAPER 

Merchant  and  Retired  Gentleman 

John  Luther  Draper  was  born  in  Amherst,  Massachu- 
setts, April  17,  1838,  and  died  in  Northampton,  May  19, 
1911.  He  was  the  son  of  Lewis  Laprelate  Draper  and 
Margaret  Henry  Draper.  John's  father  was  born  March  25, 
1801,  and  died  in  Northampton  September  15,  1890.  The 
grandfather  was  Lewis  Draper,  who  was  born  May  3,  1767, 
and  died  November  2,  1843.  This  grandfather's  wife,  before 
marriage,  was  Lucy  Orme.  John  L.  Draper's  father  attended 
the  Academy  at  New  Salem,  Massachusetts.  In  his  manhood 
he  was  a  merchant  at  South  Deerfield,  and  later  at  Faribault, 
Minnesota.  By  means  of  economy,  frugality,  and  industry 
he  accumulated  quite  a  respectable  share  of  this  world's 
goods.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Methodist  Church 
in  Northampton,  and  was  respected  for  his  strict  integrity, 
honesty,  and  stability  of  character. 

John  L.  Draper's  family  can  trace  their  ancestry  back 
to  the  year  1400,  on  the  lines  set  forth  in  foregoing  pages. 
One  of  Mr.  Draper's  American  ancestors,  John  Draper, 
fought  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  this  patriot's  descendants  now 
treasure  his  old  musket. 

Mr.  Draper  came  to  Northampton  from  Amherst  with 
his  father,  a  brother,  and  two  sisters  in  1860.  He  completed 
his  education  in  the  common  schools  and  then  began  to 
look  about  for  an  opening  in  business.  After  some  uncer- 
tainty he  made  a  decision,  and  opened  a  hat  and  gentlemen's 
furnishing  store  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Pleasant  streets, 
where  the  Blanc-Levin  drug  store  now  is.  Later  he  was  in 
the  clothing  business  in  company  with  Benjamin  Ockington 
where  Cohn's  store  stands.  Thus  far  he  proved  true  to 
the  instincts  of  his  English  and  American  ancestral  business 


Residence  of  Mrs.  John  L.  Draper  on  Bridge  Street 


327 


The  Draper  Family  329 


training,  as  inclining  to  the  haberdashery  line  of  trade.  But 
at  length  he  engaged  in  the  livery  stable  business,  the  stable 
being  in  the  rear  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Draper  Hotel. 

On  the  death  of  his  father,  Mr.  Draper  came  into  pos- 
session of  a  considerable  amount  of  property,  as  did  his 
brother  Emerson  Draper,  who  lived  in  Springfield,  and  his 
sister,  Mrs.  William  D.  Gray,  of  Northampton. 

Mr.  Draper  married,  January  11,  1872,  Susan  Hall,  of 
Northampton,  the  daughter  of  Levi  B.  and  Maria  Hall. 
His  sister  Emeline  married  a  Mr.  Ingraham,  of  Fond  du  Lac, 
Wisconsin,  but  died  some  time  ago,  and  his  nearest  surviv- 
ing relative,  besides  his  wife,  is  Mrs.  Gray. 

Mr.  Draper  lived  a  retired  life  for  twenty  years  before 
he  died.  The  care  of  his  property  occupied  a  large  part  of 
his  time,  but  he  and  his  wife  spent  part  of  their  winters  in 
Florida,  California,  and  Europe.  When  he  bought  the  old 
Fitch  Block  (which  contained  the  principal  hotel  at  the 
center  of  Northampton)  he  spent  much  time  and  a  large 
amount  of  money  fitting  it  up  in  what  he  believed  to  be 
suitable  style  for  a  city  of  the  reputation  which  Northampton 
claimed.  This  hotel,  which  at  the  time  was  called  the  Man- 
sion House,  had  become  considerably  run  down.  It  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  old-time  and  famous  Warner  coffee-house, 
and  Mr.  Draper  therefore  prided  himself  on  restoring,  in 
good  measure,  the  reputation  which  the  place  formerly  had 
as  a  public  tavern.  He  not  only  succeeded  in  making  over 
the  old  hotel  into  a  modern  one,  but  he  placed  it  in  the  hands 
of  good  landlords,  the  Messrs.  Bowker,  who  gave  it  the 
name  it  bears  today  and  managed  it  for  several  years  to 
general  public  acceptation. 

In  politics  Mr.  Draper  was  a  life-long  Republican.  He 
was  an  attendant  at  the  First  Church.  Those  who  knew 
him  best  say  that  he  was  a  man  of  great  strength  of  char- 


330 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


acter,  kindly  and  helpful  without  ostentation,  and  that  more 
than  once,  in  a  quiet  way,  he  gave  such  good  advice  to  young 
men,  as  to  business  and  moral  conduct,  that  they  were  greatly 
benefited  by  it,  and  were  aided  to  careers  of  usefulness  to 
themselves  and  others,  where  otherwise  they  were  in  danger 
of  going  wrong.  A  few  years  ago  Mr.  Draper  built  for 
himself  and  his  wife  the  beautiful  and  commodious  residence 
which  stands  at  the  corner  of  Bridge  Street  and  Pomeroy 
Terrace.  The  good  taste  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Draper  is  shown 
here  in  the  furnishings  of  the  residence,  which  comprise 
collections  of  many  rare  and  unique  curios  and  works  of  art 
gathered  by  them  in  their  travels. 


Edwin  W.  Higbee 


Coat  of  Arms  in  Higbee  Family 

(Stearns  family  branch) 


331 


EDWIN  W.  HIGBEE 

A  Well-Known  Northampton  Physician 

EDWIN  W.  HIGBEE  was  a  physician  in  Northampton 
for  nearly  a  half  century,  and  his  passing  from  the 
scene  of  his  earthly  labors  calls  for  more  than  the 
usual  perfunctory  newspaper  notice. 

The  Family  in  Vermont 

Edwin  Wilbur  Higbee  was  born  in  Charlotte,  Vermont, 
February  13,  1849,  and  died  in  Northampton,  May  21,  1916. 
His  father  was  Peter  VanVliet  Higbee,  born  at  Ferrisburg, 
Vermont,  April  11,  1811,  and  died  June  11,  1888,  at  Cas- 
sopolis,  Michigan.  His  mother,  before  marriage,  was  Miranda 
Harding.  She  was  born  in  Sherburne,  Vermont,  August  29, 
1814.  His  grandfathers  were  Caleb  Harding,  who  was  born 
March  27,  1778,  and  who  died  in  1856,  and  Peter  Higbee, 
born  in  1756.  His  grandmothers,  before  marriage,  were 
Judith  Stearns  (from  whose  family  comes  the  coat  of  arms), 
born  October  6,  1791,  and  Olive  VanVliet. 

Dr.  Higbee's  ancestry  was  in  part  of  English  Quaker 
origin,  and  in  part  was  derived  from  Holland.  The  closeness 
of  the  latter  origin  to  his  own  generation  can  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that  his  grandmother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
VanVliet,  never  learned  English.     The  reproduction,  which 

333 


334  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

accompanies  this  chapter,  of  a  page  of  the  Bible,  in  her  own 
language,  will  be  of  interest  to  many.  (The  marginal  conno- 
tations, in  fine  text,  can  be  easily  read  with  a  good  micro- 
scope.) Dr.  Higbee  had  the  leaf  from  which  this  reproduc- 
tion was  made  framed,  and  it  hung  in  his  office  for  many 
years. 

The  numerous  office  patients  from  the  surrounding  towns 
who  came  to  Dr.  Higbee  along  the  years  became  his  warm 
friends,  for  he  took  a  personal  interest  in  all  whom  he  could 
in  any  way  aid. 

Dr.  Higbee's  father,  Honorable  Peter  VanVliet  Higbee, 
was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  note  in  the  town  of  Char- 
lotte, Vermont,  where  he  passed  most  of  his  life.  By  habits 
of  industry  and  economy  he  accumulated  a  competence. 
Some  idea  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  may  be  gath- 
ered from  the  fact  that  he  held  every  office  in  his  township, 
and  was  for  many  years  appointed  administrator  to  settle  the 
estates  of  his  deceased  neighbors  and  friends.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Vermont  Legislature  for  1861,  and  served  in 
the  House  at  the  same  time  with  Judge  Edmunds  who  was 
later  the  well-known  United  States  Senator  from  Vermont. 

The  Honorable  Peter  VanVliet  Higbee  had  two  sons, 
William  Wallace,  and  Edwin  W.  The  latter,  after  his  com- 
mon school  education,  began  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
Wallace  stepped  into  his  father's  place  and  did  for  the  people 
of  Charlotte  and  vicinity  what  his  father  had  done  before 
him.  That  the  son  did  correspondingly  well  is  evidenced  by 
the  records  of  that  time,  and  by  the  fact  that  he  was  as  well 
beloved  as  his  father.  He  was  sent  to  the  State  Legislature 
as  town  representative  in  1886,  and  as  senator  in  1888.  He 
filled  the  office  of  town  clerk  for  thirty-eight  years.  Wallace 
Higbee  was  also  noted  for  his  appreciation  of  the  historic  and 
scenic  advantages  of  his  native  region,  and  he  often  wrote 


Dr.  Edwin  W.  Higbee 


335 


Edwin  W.  Higbee  337 


of  these  interestingly  for  the  newspapers,  and  of  various  other 
matters  that  otherwise  would  probably  have  passed  beyond 
printed  preservation. 

Any  consideration  of  this  family  should  include  some 
mention  of  two  uncles  of  the  late  Dr.  E.  W.  Higbee.  These 
were  Dr.  Edwin  B.  Harding,  of  Northampton,  and  Dr.  Wilbur 
F.  Harding.  It  is  an  interesting  circumstance  that  these 
three  physicians,  educated  in  the  allopathic  school  of  medi- 
cine, decided,  finally,  all  of  them,  to  adopt  the  homoeopathic 
method  of  medical  practice. 

Dr.  Edwin  B.  Harding  was  a  prominent  physician  in 
Northampton,  in  his  chosen  work,  for  many  years  —  from 
1863  to  1877 — and  obtained  high  rank  as  a  skillful  and  suc- 
cessful practitioner.  He  was  a  close  student,  and  he  was  an 
inventor  of  several  instruments  valuable  in  surgical  practice. 
He  was  an  extensive  reader,  and  was  so  thoroughly  devoted 
to  his  profession  that  he  did  not  take  the  rest  that  he  needed. 
His  early  death  was  much  mourned  by  his  patients  and 
friends  in  the  town  of  Northampton. 

Dr.  Wilbur  F.  Harding,  his  brother,  was  another  very 
successful  physician,  who  began  practice  in  a  New  York 
State  village,  continued  his  labors  for  ten  years  in  Green- 
field, Massachusetts,  and  the  rest  of  his  life  in  Westfield. 

The  Doctor  Himself 

With  such  ancestry  as  Edwin  Wilbur  Higbee  had,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  he  proved  a  valuable  citizen.  The  day 
of  great  dosing  and  drugging  by  physicians  was  rapidly  pass- 
ing when  the  Doctors  Harding  came  into  practice.  Even  the 
allopathic  school  had  begun  to  use  less  medicine,  and  to 
advise  dieting  and  exercise  to  their  patients  as  measures  of 
most  curative  value.  The  homoeopathist  then  favored  trying 
the  smallest  of  doses  on  the  principle  of  "Like  cures  like." 


338  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Thus  Similia  similibus  curantur  became  the  popular  medical 
theme  in  many  a  household. 

Dr.  Higbee  was  one  who  accepted  the  new  school  theo- 
ries enthusiastically.  After  graduating  at  the  University  of 
Vermont,  in  the  class  of  1871,  he  began  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  Westfield,  and  continued  it  in  Springfield.  The  death 
of  his  beloved  uncle,  Dr.  Edwin  B.  Harding,  April  10,  1877, 
brought  him  to  Northampton,  where  he  proved  in  a  short 
time  a  most  worthy  successor  to  that  uncle.  As  a  specialist 
in  his  profession  he  acquired  a  large  practice.  He  was  aided 
in  this  specialization  by  study  abroad,  especially  in  France, 
where  he  acquired  much  valuable  knowledge  from  medical 
authorities  there  who  were  glad  to  impart  to  him  the  details 
of  such  medical  formulas  and  practice  as  they  had  tested  and 
proved  useful.  While  on  his  tour  abroad  in  1881,  he  wrote 
a  series  of  very  interesting  letters  to  the  Hampshire  County 
Journal,  a  paper  printed  in  Northampton,  and  when  he 
returned  he  found  a  rapidly  increasing  practice. 

In  assimilating  and  utilizing  the  results  of  French  and 
German  research,  at  a  time  when  new  discoveries  were  revo- 
lutionizing medical  and  surgical  practice,  Dr.  Higbee  was  one 
of  the  first  to  recognize  their  value.  He  was  a  natural  lin- 
guist, and  was  not  only  at  home  with  the  French  and  German 
language,  but  had  what  he  liked  to  call  a  "bowing  acquaint- 
ance" with  several  other  modern  languages;  so  he  was  inde- 
pendent of  translations  and  able  to  keep  up  with  foreign 
publications.  He  accepted  the  germ  theory  while  it  was 
derided  by  others.  He  installed  electric  and  galvanic  instru- 
ments in  his  office  long  before  these  means  were  used  com- 
monly even  in  the  large  cities. 

His  was  a  versatile  nature,  in  the  line  of  study,  in  several 
directions — particularly  in  the  line  of  mechanics.  He  not 
only  constructed  and  patented  several  valuable  surgical  in- 


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.  ..••!?-  ..jjB 


A  Page  /row  ^e  Bible  of  Dr.  Higbee's  Grandmother  Van  Vliet 


339 


Edwin  W.  Higbee  341 


struments,  but  he  "took  a  hand"  at  practical  household 
matters,  such  as  house  heating. 

In  the  line  of  surgical  work  should  be  mentioned  two 
instances  of  his  earlier  inventions,  the  "Modified  Hodge 
Pessary"  and  the  "Higbee  Speculum." 

The  writer  remembers  well  the  interest  inspired  in  him 
by  the  doctor's  successful  experiments  in  the  economical 
heating  of  houses  and  offices  by  his  indirect  system. 

While  engrossed  in  the  duties  of  his  profession  and  at- 
tending also  to  the  impulses  of  an  inventive  mind,  he  found 
some  time  to  give  to  social  affairs.  He  was  a  Republican, 
but  had  no  taste  for  politics,  though  he  was  always  ready  to 
help  with  his  pen  and  means  toward  any  betterment  of 
society.  He  was  a  member  of  Jerusalem  Lodge  of  Free 
Masons  and  was  made  a  life  member  of  that  order  in  May, 
1914.  In  1875  he  became  a  member  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church. 

On  May  11,  1886,  Dr.  Higbee  married  Miss  Netta  E. 
Wetherbee,  daughter  of  Andrew  Wetherbee,  of  Waltham, 
Massachusetts,  and  they  had  one  child,  a  son,  Earl  VanVliet 
Higbee.  The  son,  after  graduating  from  the  Northampton 
High  School,  completed  his  indoor  education  at  the  Yale 
Sheffield  Scientific  School,  where  he  graduated  in  1915,  and 
he  is  now  holding  a  responsible  position  as  metallurgist  in  a 
large  manufacturing  concern  at  Bridgeport,  Connecticut. 

What  remains  to  be  said  is  best  expressed  by  a  woman 
who  was  a  personal  friend  of  Dr.  Higbee,  and  who  was  also 
one  of  those  who  had  come  under  his  care,  and  had  been 
lifted  from  disease  to  health  by  his  treatment.  He  was 
always  known  as  the  perfect  gentleman  and  "good  physi- 
cian" to  all  who  had  his  care,  but  this  patient  recalls  a  cir- 
cumstance which  is  more  than  usually  interesting  in  this 
connection.     She  says: 


342  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

"Some  are  left  who  recall  the  young  physician  speeding 
over  the  roads  in  his  gig.  But  not  many  ever  knew  that 
his  change  from  a  general  practitioner  to  an  office  specialist 
was  made  imperative  by  a  serious  strain  received  in  lifting 
a  bed-ridden  patient  into  a  baggage  car.  From  that  time 
the  jar  of  riding  about  became  intolerable.  Several  weeks 
at  the  baths  in  Vichy,  France,  brought  some  measure  of 
relief,  but  general  practice  could  never  be  resumed.  .  .  . 
To  those  who  watched  the  end,  remembering  his  eager  spirit 
and  his  ideal  of  service,  no  legacy  nor  example  could  perhaps 
be  greater." 

Others  of  his  patients  have  testified  most  feelingly  to 
Dr.  Higbee's  qualities  as  a  physician-friend — uniformly  to 
the  effect  that  he  was  always  the  perfect  gentleman  and  one 
who  was  interested  in  his  patients  not  from  mere  professional 
curiosity,  but  with  that  kindly,  more  brotherly  interest 
which  gave  him  a  real  fellow-feeling  for  their  daily  struggles 
and  perplexities. 

The  city  of  Northampton  has  known  many  fine  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  in  its  history,  but  none  more  deservedly 
valued  and  appreciated  generally,  and  to  be  honored  in 
memory,  than  Dr.  Edwin  Wilbur  Higbee. 


CLARENCE  D.  CHASE 

City  Clerk  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts 

CLARENCE  D.  CHASE  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
City  Clerk,  at  the  annual  municipal  election  held 
in  1906,  and  took  office  January  7,  1907.  He  is, 
therefore,  completing  his  tenth  year  of  service  as  a  public 
official  in  the  city  hall,  at  the  present  time  of  writing. 

Mr.  Chase  is  a  native  of  Burtonville,  New  York,  where 
he  was  born,  September  21,  1872.  Burtonville  was  named 
after  his  mother's  ancestors,  the  Burtons.  Her  mother  was 
one  of  that  distinguished  family. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  only  son  of  DeWitt 
Clinton  Chase  and  Jane  L.  Dakin.  After  graduating  from 
the  public  schools,  and  receiving  some  business  training,  he 
came  to  Northampton  in  the  year  1890.  He  was  employed 
in  the  office  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford 
Railroad,  where  he  achieved  much  success,  and  was  promoted 
to  be  chief  clerk  and  cashier,  and  later  freight  agent  and  man- 
ager of  the  company's  business  in  Northampton.  At  length 
he  was  called  to  the  service  of  the  city,  as  before  noted,  after 
previously  serving  as  councilman  from  the  Third  Ward  in 
1899  and  1900,  and  alderman  from  the  same  ward  in  1901 

343 


344  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

and  1902.  He  received  the  endorsement  of  both  the  leading 
parties  for  several  years  for  the  office  of  city  clerk,  and  when 
his  candidacy  was  contested,  he  led  his  opponents  by  a  very 
large  majority. 

On  August  12,  1905,  Mr.  Chase  married  Miss  Eugenia 
A.  Orrell,  daughter  of  William  Orrell,  of  Holyoke.  They 
have  one  son,  Robert  Gaston  Chase,  born  October  26,  1916. 

Mr.  Chase  is  affiliated  with  several  societies  and  frater- 
nities— the  different  branches  of  the  Masonic  order,  including 
the  Knights  Templars  and  Mystic  Shrine,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Elks,  the  Northampton  Country  Club,  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  the  Edwards  Church  Men's  Club. 


Clarence  D.  Chase 


345 


HARRY  E.  BICKNELL 

A  Weil-Known  Local  Representative  of  The  Democratic  Party 

THE  BICKNELL  FAMILY  has  an  ancient  and  credit- 
able record  in  the  archives  of  American  and  English 
genealogy,  but  lack  of  space  prevents  extended 
reference  to  the  matter  in  these  pages.  It  seems  sufficient 
to  say  that  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Harry  Emerson  Bicknell, 
can  trace  his  English  ancestry  back  about  five  hundred  years, 
and  in  this  country  to  John  Bicknell  of  Hingham,  Massachu- 
setts, about  1740.  He  was  born  in  Windsor,  Berkshire 
County,  December  28,  1870,  the  son  of  Luke  Emerson  Bick- 
nell and  Lucretia  Tower  Pierce  Bicknell.  When  he  was  a 
few  months  old  the  family  removed  to  West  Cummington, 
where  his  father  engaged  in  business  as  a  merchant.  Young 
Bicknell  made  his  home  with  the  family  until  the  fall  of 
1897,  when  he  went  to  Winsted,  Connecticut,  to  engage  in 
business.  He  was  for  three  years  in  the  book,  news,  and 
stationery  business  in  Winsted,  and,  March  1,  1890,  moved 
to  Northampton,  where  he  became  proprietor  of  the  furnishing 
goods  department  of  the  Greene  shoe  store  in  the  Columbian 
building  on  Main  Street.  About  1903  he  became  proprietor 
of  the  whole  establishment,  which  had,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  several  previous  owners  in  the  same  line  of  business, 
not  proved  over  prosperous.  Mr.  Bicknell,  however,  when 
he  took  charge  of  the  business,  devoted  himself  to  it  with 
such  care  and  ability  that  he  created  one  of  the  most  successful 
stores  on  Main  Street. 

347 


348  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Mr.  Bicknell  developed  qualities  of  business  conservatism 
in  buying  and  selling  at  a  rather  early  age,  and  made  his 
success  in  trade  by  exercising  careful  judgment  on  the  times 
and  places  to  move  goods.  It  is  a  fact  that  he  rather  sur- 
prised those  who  looked  for  continued  failure  in  situations 
where  others  had  failed.  He  distinguished  himself  as  a  boy 
in  his  father's  store  in  Cummington,  where  for  many  years 
the  father  attended  to  the  wants  of  the  general  public  in  the 
country  variety  store  traffic  of  that  time.  The  father  was 
noted  for  his  honesty  and  independence.  He  made  a  most 
honorable  record  in  the  Civil  War,  as  second  Lieutenant  with 
the  Andrews  Sharpshooters,  Massachusetts  Infantry. 

For  six  years  the  son  was  the  village  postmaster  at  West 
Cummington,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he  was  justice  of  the 
peace  and  notary  public  and  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Greenhalge  a  special  justice 
to  take  complaints,  issue  warrants,  and  fix  bail  in  criminal 
cases.  With  this  official  and  business  training  he  was  assisted 
in  making  his  mark  in  Northampton  social  and  business  life. 

Mr.  Bicknell  is  a  member  of  several  fraternal  orders  and 
has  reached  the  thirty-second  degree  in  Masonry.  He  is  a 
Past  Commander  of  Northampton  Commandery  of  Knights 
Templar,  and  is  frequently  called  on  to  act  as  installing  officer  in 
the  highest  work  of  the  order.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine,  Odd  Fellows,  of  the  Elks,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Sons 
of  Veterans,  Sons  of  the  Revolution  (and  is  the  highest  officer 
in  most  of  the  orders).  He  has  been  vice-president  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  president  of  the  Northampton  Club. 
He  takes  an  interest  in  all  movements  for  public  welfare,  and 
presided  at  the  organization  of  the  Public  Forum  at  the 
Academy  of  Music  in  1916. 

He  has  been  noted  for  his  faithfulness  and  close  ad- 
herence to  the  principles  and  traditions  of  the  Democratic 


Harry  E.  Bicknell 


349 


Harry  E.  Bicknell  351 


party.  He  was  the  party's  candidate  in  1909  and  1910  for 
Mayor  of  Northampton,  and  again  in  1915,  and  for  County 
Commissioner  in  1912.  On  all  these  occasions  he  came  sur- 
prisingly near  defeating  his  successful  opponents.  Twice  he 
ran  for  Alderman  in  the  strong  Republican  Second  Ward  and 
was  defeated  only  by  a  narrow  margin.  Mr.  Bicknell's 
political  action,  as  a  Democrat  dates  back  to  the  days  of 
Grover  Cleveland  and  William  E.  Russell,  when  many  young 
men  like  himself  rallied  to  the  support  of  the  Democratic 
party.  To  be  a  Democrat  in  Cummington,  in  those  days, 
meant  something  —  almost  social  ostracism  —  but  young  Bick- 
nell displayed  those  qualities,  as  a  citizen  of  his  native  town, 
which  compelled  respect,  helped  him  develop  himself  and 
build  character  which  aided  him  when  he  came  to  more  try- 
ing places.  To  the  training  he  had  in  the  little  Hampshire 
hill  town  he  owes,  largely,  the  success  he  found  later. 

Young  Mr.  Bicknell  had  intended  to  study  law  and  de- 
vote himself  to  the  legal  profession,  but  delicate  health  and 
trouble  with  his  eyes  prevented  this,  although  as  has  been 
noted,  it  has  not  prevented  his  making  himself  useful  in  the 
world. 

He  married,  October,  1896,  Cora,  daughter  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lucius  Buck  of  Cummington,  and  they  have  three 
daughters  —  Grace,  now  Mrs.  Robert  Spencer,  Jr.,  Gladys, 
and  Alice. 


DR.  J.  B.  LEARNED 

A  Reformer  and  Friend  of  Humanity 

HE  who  can  make  two  grains  of  wheat  grow  where  but 
one  grew  before  has  been  declared  a  public  bene- 
factor with  good  reason,  and  so  any  one  who  has 
improved  any  human  food  product  or  directed  and  shown  a 
more  healthful  course  of  living  is  equally  entitled  to  be  enrolled 
among  the  world's  valuable  citizens.  Such  an  one  was  Dr. 
J.  B.  Learned  of  the  village  of  Florence,  Massachusetts. 

There  are  comparatively  few  men  who  have  made  them- 
selves so  useful  to  their  fellow  men  in  so  brief  a  space  of  time 
as  did  he.  For  a  trained  medical  man,  he  seems  to  have 
had  a  remarkable  antipathy  to  the  use  of  drugs,  but  he  was 
only  ahead  of  his  time  in  discouraging  the  taking  of  them, 
and  his  love  for  the  best  and  purest  of  food  products  was 
only  another  evidence  of  his  desire  to  obtain  for  human 
beings  the  very  best  of  circumstances  and  environment  for 
the  development  of  their  life. 

Genealogically,  of  course,  such  a  family  as  his  is  of  in- 
terest, and  its  story  should  be  carefully  recorded. 

John  Barr  Learned  was  born  in  Dana,  Massachusetts, 
February  19,  1839,  and  his  death  occurred  January  24,  1910. 
His  father,  John  Learned,  was  born  at  Templeton,  Massa- 
chusetts, August  18,  1791,  and  died  at  Florence  September 

352 


Dr.  J.  B.  Learned 


353 


Dr.  J.  B.  Learned  355 


2,  1883.  Dr.  LearnecTs  mother  was,  before  her  marriage, 
Mary  Barr.  She  was  born  at  New  Braintree,  Massachu- 
setts, July  4,  1803,  and  died  in  Florence  September  15,  1886. 

Dr.  Learned's  grandfathers  were:  Thomas  Learned, 
who  was  born  at  Templeton,  Massachusetts,  January  10, 
1766,  and  died  at  Templeton  July  8,  1839;  John  Barr,  who 
was  born  at  New  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  May  10,  1762, 
and  died  at  New  Braintree  November  30,  1832. 

His  grandmothers,  before  marriage,  were:  Lydia  Tread- 
well,  who  married  Thomas  Learned;  and  Molly  Bridges,  who 
married  John  Barr. 

Dr.  Learned's  father  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  in 
southern  Vermont,  and  his  marked  characteristics  were  those 
of  a  hard-working  pioneer. 

The  family  ancestry  is  traced  back  to  1590,  and  to  the 
following  immigrant  ancestors  who  came  from  England  to 
settle  in  America:  William  Learned,  who  came  from  England 
in  1632,  and  settled  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts;  Thomas 
Treadwell,  who  came  over  in  the  Hopewell  in  1635  and  settled 
in  Dorchester;  Edmund  Bridges,  who  came  over  in  the 
James  from  London  in  1635  and  settled  at  Lynn. 

When  John  Learned  was  two  years  of  age,  the  family 
moved  to  Whitingham,  Windham  County,  Vermont.  A  few 
years  later  they  moved  again,  and  went  to  Readsboro,  in 
Bennington  County,  Vermont.  Here,  on  a  small  farm,  the 
future  physician's  boyhood  was  passed.  Two  brothers, 
Thomas  and  Samuel,  and  one  sister,  Mary,  made  up  the 
family.  The  older  brother,  Samuel,  went  to  California, 
along  with  an  overland  party,  in  '49,  and  never  returned. 
After  being  heard  from  for  two  or  three  years,  he  with  two 
other  miners  headed  for  a  remote  field,  and  that  was  the  last 
known  of  him.  No  explanation  of  his  disappearance  was 
ever  received. 


356  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

Thomas  enlisted  early  in  the  Civil  War.  He  returned 
disabled,  and  died  in  1863.  Mary  married  Solomon  Rice  and 
died  in  1866. 

The  family  was  supported  by  the  small  income  from  the 
farm,  and  the  combined  work  of  the  mother  and  the  children 
braiding  palm-leaf  hats.  As  soon  as  able,  at  twelve  years  or 
thereabouts,  each  of  the  boys  was  hired  out  to  a  neighboring 
farmer  for  six  months.  School  for  three  months  in  the 
winter  was  the  usual  allowance  at  this  time  for  boys.  They 
had  the  same  three  months  in  summer  until  they  could  work 
on  the  farm.  The  braiding  of  hats  was  kept  up  in  school 
months,  morning  and  night.  One  or  two  hats  a  day  was  the 
usual  stint.  Carrying  hats  to  market  or  "the  store,"  and 
bringing  back  more  palm-leaf  and  store  things,  was  part  of  the 
work  of  boys.  Horses  were  not  so  plenty  then,  and  oxen  were 
often  used  for  traveling  on  the  road.  Boys  were  useful, 
however,  if  the  freight  was  no  more  than  a  jug  of  molasses, 
a  "bunch  of  leaf,"  some  tea,  and  a  bottle  of  "Cherry  Pec- 
toral/' 

John  was  never  fond  of  picking  up  stones,  turning 
grindstones,  or  mowing  hay  before  breakfast,  and  he  urged 
his  father  to  "sell  him  his  time."  He  wanted  to  go  to  school 
more,  and  at  fourteen  he  was  in  the  high  school,  then  kept 
by  some  college  student  who  needed  funds.  He  taught  the 
winter  following,  and  successively  for  several  years.  In  the 
fall  and  spring  he  was  in  the  high  school  or  academy.  At 
Powers  Institute  he  closed  his  academical  course,  and  after 
a  year,  during  which  he  rented  a  farm  and  lived  with  his 
parents,  began  the  study  of  medicine.  He  completed  two 
courses  at  the  Berkshire  Medical  College,  and  graduated  in 
1865  from  the  medical  department  of  Columbia  College,  in 
New  York  City.  His  office  study  was  with  Dr.  R.  W.  Ben- 
nett, of  Bennington,  Vermont. 


Dr.  J.  B.  Learned  357 


Soon  after  graduation  he  married  Lucy  Louisa  Davis, 
of  Halifax,  Vermont,  daughter  of  Amial  K.  Davis  and  Betsey 
(Sanders)  Davis,  and  began  his  labors  as  a  physician  at 
South  Vernon,  Vermont.  His  wife  died  March  13,  1866, 
and  he  returned  with  an  infant  son,  just  born  to  him,  to 
Readsboro,  where  his  parents  still  resided. 

After  three  years  practice  there  he  removed  to  Florence, 
Massachusetts,  and  he  continued  to  be  a  dweller  in  that  vil- 
lage for  the  rest  of  his  days.  He  was  active  in  his  profession 
until  1880,  when,  because  of  an  accident  which  nearly  cost 
him  his  life,  he  abandoned  all  night  practice,  and  much  of 
his  accustomed  day  work. 

On  December  20,  1870,  he  married  Maria  L.  Bond,  of 
Northampton,  daughter  of  Daniel  H.  Bond,  and  a  son  was 
born  to  them.  After  her  death,  in  January,  1882,  this  son 
was  cared  for  by  the  mother's  sister,  Miss  Mary  Bond,  until 
the  doctor  married  Mrs.  Emily  K.  Sheffeld,  of  Florence, 
February  13,  1884.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  L. 
Hill,  and  is  still  living  in  Florence. 

Dr.  Learned's  oldest  son,  Myron  Leslie  Learned,  born  at 
South  Vernon,  Vermont,  February  19,  1866,  is  an  attorney 
in  Omaha,  Nebraska.  His  second  son,  Henry  Bond  Learned, 
born  July  30,  1873,  was  killed  by  a  railroad  train  at  a  grade 
crossing  in  Hadley,  January  3,  1891.  His  children  by  his 
third  wife  were:  Wilfred  Hill  Learned,  born  May  22,  1896, 
who  is  now  a  farmer  at  Florence;  and  Raymond  Hill  Learned, 
born  July  17,  1887,  who  is  in  the  implement  business  at 
Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

Dr.  Learned  was  never  prominent  in  politics,  but  was 
generally  a  voter  with  the  Republican  party.  Had  he  sought 
office  he  might  easily  have  had  it,  for  his  opinions  were  held 
in  the  highest  respect.  He  accepted  the  unpaid  office  of 
member  of  the  school  committee  for  several  years,  and  his 


358  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

peculiar  fitness  for  the  duties  of  that  position  were  clearly 
recognized  by  his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Hampshire  County  Medical  Society,  The  Massachusetts 
State  Medical  Society,  the  American  Medical  Association, 
the  British  Medical  Association,  and  the  Franklin  Harvest 
Club. 

In  religious  matters  he  was  very  liberal,  and  was  for  many 
years  a  prominent  member  of  the  Free  Congregational  Society 
which  holds  its  meetings  at  Cosmian  Hall,  Florence. 

When  the  active  life  of  Dr.  Learned,  in  behalf  of  his 
convictions  and  services  to  his  fellow  men  is  considered, 
there  is  much  more  than  can  be  related  in  the  necessarily 
restricted  pages  of  such  a  work  as  this.  But  what  he  said 
and  did  was  of  such  vital  interest  and  value  that  some  resume* 
of  it  should  be  given  for  the  benefit  of  a  growing  world.  It 
would  be  well  if  the  great  mass  of  writings,  letters,  and  ad- 
dresses which  came  from  him  were  deposited  in  the  Forbes 
Library  or  some  other  suitable  place.  He  was  as  great  a 
health  preacher  in  his  day  as  was  Sylvester  Graham  of  North- 
ampton in  his,  but  there  are  few  existing  records  of  Graham's 
sayings  or  works.  They  would  be  greatly  valued  now  had 
they  been  preserved. 

Public  opinion  of  Dr.  Learned's  work,  in  the  future,  will 
undoubtedly  consider  of  most  importance  his  writings  and 
addresses  on  personal  health  matters,  for  on  this  topic  he 
talked  so  well  and  wisely  that  he  appealed  to  the  common 
sense  of  all. 

Naturally  cautious  and  conservative,  when  convinced 
another  way  was  better  than  the  one  generally  pursued,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  take  it.  He  early  advocated  less  medi- 
cine and  better  care  of  health.  Before  the  medical  associa- 
tions of  which  he  was  always  a  prominent  member,  he  made 
known  his  methods  and  fearlessly  defended  any  departures 


Residence  of  Dr.  Learned  and  Family  on  "Strawberry  Hill,"  Florence 


359 


Dr.  J.  B.  Learned  361 


he  had  taken.  He  gave  whole  milk  in  place  of  milk  and 
water  to  infants  and  met  opposition,  just  as  he  did  in  the 
case  of  many  other  positions  he  took  in  medical  practice. 
His  reply  to  his  critics  was  characteristic  and  convincing. 
He  said: 

"  Doctors  of  the  old  school  declared  that  whole  milk 
would  be  too  strong  to  begin  with.  A  few  of  the  '  old  granny ' 
nurses,  speaking  in  an  undertone  from  the  rear,  say,  'Well,  if 
they  don't  give  that  baby  some  real  milk,  he'll  never  amount 
to  anything.'  I've  never  known  one  to  grow  up  on  milk 
and  water  and  lime  and  sugar  and  paregoric  and  charcoal 
and  bismuth,  fed  every  fifteen  minutes  to  keep  wind  off  the 
stomach." 

The  doctor  had  the  satisfaction  of  living  to  see  his  views 
regarding  the  feeding  of  infants  generally  approved  by  the 
medical  fraternity  at  large,  for  it  is  now  commonly  conceded 
by  them  that  breast  milk  fed  babes  are  the  healthiest. 

But  Dr.  Learned  had  ever  in  his  thoughts  for  human 
health  the  whole  span  of  life  from  infancy  to  old  age,  and 
much  could  be  transcribed  here  of  value  that  he  has  said  con- 
cerning the  growing  child.  It  was  this  interest  which  at- 
tracted him  to  school  board  service,  and  while  a  member  of 
this  board  he  said  and  did  much  that  had  a  bearing  on  the 
health  of  the  school  children.  His  greatest  fight,  however, 
was  against  the  use  of  drugs,  and  here  he  had  the  finding  of 
true  medical  science  back  of  him,  with  the  statement  that 
out  of  over  ten  thousand  drugs  in  use,  only  two  —  mercury 
and  quinine  —  had  any  curative  value,  and  that  there  was 
little  doubt  that  these  had  done  more  harm  than  good. 

It  may  be  asked  how  Dr.  Learned's  fellow  practitioners 
in  the  medical  field  viewed  his  position.  How  could  they 
conscientiously  do  aught  but  approve?  And  approve  they 
did,  but  reserved  to  themselves,  as  a  class,  an  often  expressed 


362  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

opinion  that  it  was  folly  for  a  doctor  to  think  he  could  make 
any  money  by  such  affirmations. 

This  qualified  position  of  the  medical  men  was  forcibly 
shown  when  Dr.  Learned  brought  out  his  cure  for  insomnia. 
The  remedy  consisted  of  a  muscular  and  mental  treatment 
at  the  retiring  hour.  It  had  been  suggested  by  his  own  ex- 
perience of  acute  wakefulness  following  the  nearly  fatal  acci- 
dent to  himself,  referred  to  elsewhere.  The  doctor  spent 
fifteen  years  experimenting  with  his  method  for  inducing 
sleep  before  he  ventured  to  give  it  to  the  public.  He  then 
spent  much  time  demonstrating  before  medical  associations 
and  clinics,  with  the  result  that  he  gained  great  approval 
from  the  highest  medical  and  health  authorities  all  over  the 
country.  Yet  this  is  what  the  doctor  confesses  in  a  note  to 
a  local  newspaper:  "I  have  heard  but  one  comment,  private 
or  public,  deserving  of  any  attention,  viz:  'Dr.  Learned's 
method  is  scientific.  It  is  at  the  front,  but  there  is  no  money 
in  telling  people  how  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  the 

doctor  is  a fool  for  spending  time  and  money  in  that 

way.'  " 

The  testimonials  of  satisfaction  with  the  theory  and 
practice  of  Dr.  Learned's  remedy  for  insomnia  came  from 
the  heads  of  the  most  important  sanitariums  and  insane 
hospitals  all  over  the  country,  from  presidents  of  colleges  and 
specialists  in  nervous  diseases,  and  there  can  be  no  question 
of  the  usefulness  of  his  remedy  as  a  substitute  for  the  dan- 
gerous and  generally  used  cures  for  insomnia.  Dr.  Learned 
has  well  said,  "Drugless  sleep,  in  full  doses,  adds  a  score  of 
years  to  American  commercial,  professional,  and  political  life, 
and  enlarges  the  yearly  product  thereof.  Drugged  sleep,  or 
the  absence  of  normal  sleep  in  full  doses,  subtracts  a  score 
of  years  from  American  life  and  diminishes  the  yearly  product 
thereof." 


Dr.  J.  B.  Learned  363 


If  the  doctor  had  done  nothing  else  than  to  lighten  and 
cure  the  horrors  of  insomnia,  as  he  did  in  placing  his  remedy 
at  the  service  of  the  people,  he  is  entitled  to  the  everlasting 
gratitude  of  all  present  and  coming  generations  of  men. 
The  remedy  is  within  reach  of  all,  and  no  one  afflicted  has 
any  one  but  himself  to  blame  if  he  does  not  choose  to  benefit 
by  it.  Nothing  is  required  except  patience  and  perseverance 
in  the  lightest  application  of  muscular  and  mental  energy, 
and  those  sufferers  from  insomnia  who  are  too  lazy  to  exer- 
cise the  simple  formula  recommended  by  Dr.  Learned  deserve 
to  suffer. 

There  was  another  interesting  phase  in  Dr.  Learned's 
life.  As  one  concerned  in  the  health  of  humanity,  the  neces- 
sary purity  of  food  products  appealed  strongly  to  him.  For 
several  years  he  talked  and  preached  most  interestingly  and 
convincingly  on  the  importance  of  raising  pure  pork.  He 
used  the  columns  of  one  of  the  local  newspapers  for  a  long  time 
in  enforcing  his  ideas  on  this  matter.  Claiming,  as  he  did, 
that  pork  was  a  cheap  and  nutritious  food,  he  contended  that 
it  was  most  important  that  it  should  be  produced  in  clean, 
hygienic  surroundings  instead  of  in  the  filthy  styes  generally 
used  by  New  England  farmers.  He  studied  the  matter  and 
found  that  hog  cholera  and  other  diseases,  both  of  the  hog 
and  those  who  used  its  flesh  indiscriminately  were  caused  by 
the  filthy  surroundings  of  the  animal.  The  doctor  com- 
menced the  keeping  of  hogs  to  improve  his  fields.  Cholera 
in  the  neighborhood  called  at  his  ranch.  He  had  two  droves 
not  far  apart.  One  was  in  limited  quarters,  being  fed  for 
fattening,  and  the  hogs  in  this  drove  were  attacked  and  suc- 
cumbed. The  other  hogs,  with  a  much  more  extended  range 
and  variety  of  food  escaped  untouched.  This  experience  led 
the  doctor  to  consider  the  welfare  of  his  pigs,  and  after  that 
he  applied  the  principles  to  pig  raising  that  he  had  been  ac- 


364  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

customed  to  apply  in  caring  for  the  health  of  human  beings. 
He  concluded  that  pure  air  and  water  with  wholesome  sur- 
roundings are  as  needful  to  the  lower  animals  as  the  higher. 
By  means  of  his  campaign  of  newspaper  preachment  he 
showed  that  much  of  the  pork  which  came  into  the  American 
market  was  diseased  and  unfit  for  consumption,  and  the  only 
wonder  was  that  any  of  it  was  fit  to  eat. 

The  doctor  built  up  quite  a  trade  in  his  product  "Straw- 
berry Hill  Pork,"  so  named  from  the  farm  where  it  was  pro- 
duced, but  while  the  people  are  eager  to  learn,  they  as  easily 
forget  what  they  learn,  and  the  cheaper  thing  usually  wins 
popular  approval.  Dr.  Learned's  pork  cost  a  little  more 
than  the  common  article,  and  people  soon  forgot  about  the 
risks  they  had  been  taking  in  the  past  and  went  back  to  the 
use  of  the  cheaper  market  pork. 

However  there  is  this  to  be  said,  and  again  to  the  doc- 
tor's credit  —  he  had  told  such  wholesome  truths  that  they 
attracted  attention  all  over  the  country.  People  began  to 
examine  into  the  matter  and  since  that  time  sanitary  legisla- 
tion has  helped  the  country  at  large,  and  farmers  in  this 
region,  at  least,  no  longer  believe  it  economical  or  safe  to  raise 
pork  in  filthy  styes.  It  is  quite  a  common  country  sight 
now  to  see  swine  roaming  in  the  fields  and  fertilizing  them, 
and  at  the  same  time  this  method  of  feeding  the  swine  con- 
tributes to  their  own  growth  and  health. 

Before  raising  pork,  Dr.  Learned  had  become  noted  for 
the  strawberries  he  raised  on  the  hill  at  Florence,  and  it  was 
thus  that  the  hill  got  its  name.  It  included,  at  that  time, 
about  1886,  all  Holyoke  and  Chestnut  streets,  since  built  up, 
and  one  hundred  or  more  berry  pickers  were  employed  by 
the  doctor  in  the  few  days  allotted  to  the  harvest.  The 
raspberry  was  another  of  his  products  and  there  was  a  ready 
market  for  all  he  could  raise. 


Dr.  J.  B.  Learned  365 


Some  of  Dr.  Learned's  more  striking  and  sententious 
sayings,  in  relation  to  health  were: 

"When  the  products  of  the  cook-book  and  the  United 
States  Dispensatory  are  served  at  the  same  table  in  alternate 
courses  there  is  something  wrong  in  Denmark. 

"I  believe  that  longer  years  and  better  years  for  the 
human  family  are  not  only  possible  but  probable,  when  the 
same  common  sense  is  employed  in  rearing  and  caring  for 
the  young  of  the  human  family  that  has  been  and  is  being 
used  in  caring  for  the  horses  and  cattle,  the  sheep  and 
fowls,  for  which  we  receive  in  the  market  a  price  corre- 
sponding to  their  size  and  shape,  their  working  and  food-giving 
qualities. 

"Let  our  ethical  societies  have  a  department  for  the 
study  and  proper  care  of  the  young  animal  known  in  the 
family  as  the  baby.  When  this  is  done,  I  predict  that  pure 
air,  plain  food,  and  much  letting  alone  will  be  the  alphabet. 
I  predict  further  that  you  will  be  early  convinced  that  sick- 
ness and  disability  come  largely  by  invitation.  Later  on  it 
will  not  be  complimentary  to  be  on  the  invalid  corps. 

"When  the  calf,  from  a  scrub  native  cow,  that  has  eaten 
only  poor  hay  and  corn  stalks  in  the  winter  time  in  the  old 
barn,  can  be  made  by  milk,  ensilage,  grain  and  good  hay  to 
weigh  half  of  thirty-five  hundred  at  six  years  of  age,  ready 
for  Brighton  —  and  no  one  can  doubt  it  —  why  cannot  the 
boy,  equally  well  cared  for,  become  larger  and  stronger  than 
the  father  or  mother.  Why  can  he  not  approach  the  Scotch 
or  Irish  grandfather? 

"Does  the  modern  school-trained  boy  do  this?  No,  he 
grows  in  the  other  direction  rather  than  physically.  He  has 
been  fed  on  brain  food  and  there  is  no  doubt  about  its  having 
taken  effect.  Was  it  Scotch  oatmeal  for  breakfast?  No, 
more  likely  coffee  and  toast  or  doughnuts.     He  has  had  the 


366  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

good  things  that  abound  on  the  New  England  table,  and 
when  the  nerve  power  wanes  with  natural,  undisturbed 
sleep,  then  the  doctor  gives  phosphatic  emulsions,  tonics 
and  hypnotics,  brain  stimulants,  stomach  stimulants,  sleep 
producing  agents. 

"What  else  could  the  doctor  do?  He  was  asked  to  give 
the  boy  something  to  keep  the  boy  up  till  graduating  time 
in  the  high  school.  This  is  good  orthodox  treatment,  medi- 
cally speaking.  It  would  not  be  orthodox,  regular,  or  scien- 
tific to  shut  off  all  drugs  and  coffee  and  pastry,  cigarettes, 
and  evening  socials. 

"No,  this  class  of  boys  are  not  in  training  to  perfect 
bones  and  muscle,  brain  and  nerves,  heart  and  lungs,  liver 
and  kidneys,  stomach  and  pancreas  —  to  enlarge  the  sum 
total  of  physical  size  and  endurance  that  they  may  reach 
perhaps  seventy  years  before  showing  signs  of  decay.  This 
is  no  part  of  the  school  program  of  today.  They  are  in 
pursuit  of  an  education.  They  are  to  have  cards  from  week 
to  week,  indicating  their  capacity  to  remember  the  text-book 
from  the  study  hour  to  the  recitation  hour.  They  are  to 
have  finally  a  larger  card,  the  diploma,  to  frame  and  hang 
on  the  office  wall,  if  they  stay  in  college  and  get  through. 
This  card  is  written  in  a  dead  language.  The  father  and 
mother  can't  read  it.  The  owner  can't  read  it  correctly, 
probably,  after  a  few  short  months." 

Naturally,  a  man  with  such  striking  ideas  as  Dr.  Learned, 
was  called  on  far  and  wide  for  his  views,  and  he  appeared  at 
the  sessions  of  many  distinguished  societies  in  this  state  and 
elsewhere.  Nor  was  he,  like  so  many,  "a  prophet  without 
honor  in  his  own  country."  He  was  formally  requested  by 
a  score  or  so  of  his  prominent  fellow  citizens,  to  give  a  series 
of  health  talks  in  the  City  Hall,  which  he  did,  to  popular 
acceptation. 


Dr.  J.  B.  Learned  367 


What  more  can  be  said  of  a  man  so  true  to  his  name  and 
such  a  credit  to  the  community  which  honored  him?  It 
should  be  remembered  that  he  was  terribly  in  earnest  in 
whatever  he  said  and  undertook,  and  he  never  failed  to  make 
an  impression  on  those  who  saw  and  heard  him.  He  was  a 
man  of  varied  knowledge  and  attainments,  a  portion  of  which 
he  never  had  the  time  to  make  use  of,  for  withal  he  was  some- 
what of  an  inventor  and  patented  at  one  time  a  calf  feeder 
and  a  fire  escape.  In  his  practice  in  the  sick  room  he  was 
more  than  the  cheerful  physician,  for  he  came  with  the  heal- 
ing conviction  which  he  imparted  to  his  patients,  that  the 
curative  power  of  nature  must  be  appealed  to  and  should  be 
aroused  in  order  to  bring  about  any  permanent  betterment. 

Dr.  John  Barr  Learned  was  a  most  useful  man  to  his 
generation,  and  undoubtedly  he  can  be  as  useful  to  other 
generations  that  may  read  and  heed  his  teachings,  if  these 
are  again  published,  as  some  day  they  should  be,  in  greater 
detail. 


JAMES  D.  ATKINS 
One  of  the  Florence  Pioneers  in  Community  Days 

WHEN  James  D.  Atkins  died  in  the  summer  of  1896 
in  Florence,  that  village  saw  the  last  survivor  of 
the  old  Community  days  pass  on  to  the  higher  life. 
James  Dunn  Atkins  was  born  in  Boston,  February  17, 
1817.  His  father,  John  Atkins,  was  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia. 
His  mother  was  Jane  Dunn,  of  Maine,  the  daughter  of  a 
commissary-general  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  James  was 
one  of  a  family  of  nine  children.  He  received  a  limited  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  was  bound  out  to  learn  the  trade  of  stereotypog- 
raphy  at  the  University  Press  in  Cambridge.  There  he 
worked  eight  years,  but  in  1842,  when  the  company  was 
printing  the  constitution  of  the  famous  Florence  Community, 
Mr.  Atkins  became  interested  in  the  principles  which  it  set 
forth.  He  thereupon  went  to  Florence  and  was  so  favorably 
impressed  with  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  people  of  the 
village  that  he  decided  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  them. 

He  was  engaged  by  the  educational  branch  of  the  asso- 
ciation to  learn  the  trade  of  dyer  from  an  Englishman  then 
in  charge  of  the  silk  industry  and  he  became  a  master  dyer, 
holding  the  position  for  forty-five  years,  and  commanding  a 
salary  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  equal  in  purchasing 
power  to  double  that  amount  to  the  present  generation.  The 
first  hundred  dollars  he  saved  was  invested  in  the  stock  of 

368 


James  D.  Atkins 


369 


James  D.  Atkins  371 


the  silk  company.  Afterward  he  bought  more,  and  for  many- 
years  he  was  a  director  of  the  company.  In  1887  he  retired 
from  business,  and  with  his  wife  took  frequent  trips  about 
the  country. 

Mr.  Atkins  was  married  in  Chesterfield,  September  14, 
1844,  to  Octavia  M.  Damon,  one  of  the  many  young  girls 
employed  in  the  silk  mill,  and  the  first  to  whom  he  had  been 
introduced  after  his  arrival.  They  celebrated  their  golden 
wedding,  with  a  large  number  of  relatives  and  over  five 
hundred  friends,  in  Cosmian  Hall  September  13,  1894.  Three 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atkins:  George  D.  of 
Brookline,  Effie  D.  Willey  of  Atascadero,  California,  and 
Fred  T.  of  Florence.  The  latter  is  well  known  all  about  the 
western  part  of  the  state  for  the  numerous  hours  of  pleasure 
he  has  furnished  the  devotees  of  Terpsichore,  by  his  man- 
agement and  direction  of  orchestral  and  piano  music,  during 
many  years. 

Mr.  Atkins  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  naturally,  for 
he  came  into  a  community  strongly  imbued  with  a  love  of 
human  liberty,  and  the  homes  of  more  than  one  of  its  mem- 
bers were  stations  on  the  "underground  railroad"  for  the 
distressed  slaves  of  the  South,  but  he  never  had  the  time  nor 
inclination  to  seek  public  office.  He  was  a  charter  member 
of  the  Free  Congregational  Society  of  Cosmian  Hall,  was  one 
of  its  most  liberal  supporters,  and  always  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  movement.  He  was  also  a  member  of  Jerusa- 
lem Lodge  of  Free  Masons  for  thirty-five  years. 

While  Mr.  Atkins  might  properly  be  called  a  gentleman 
of  the  old  school,  he  was  yet  a  man  who  progressed  with  the 
times  and  kept  himself  well  informed  of  the  development  of 
events.  He  had  a  sunny,  cordial  nature  which  won  him  many 
friends,  and  there  were  few  in  the  Florence  community  who 
did  not  know  him.     The  older  residents  were  all  on  familiar 


372 


Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


terms  from  personal  contact  with  his  jolly,  sincere,  and  sym- 
pathetic personality,  and  he  was  widely  beloved  and  honored. 
He  was  a  man  of  originality  and  independence,  both  in 
thought  and  action,  but  of  such  a  kindly  nature  that  he 
easily  adjusted  himself  to  his  associates  and  environment, 
with  the  result  that  he  made  many  friends  and  few  enemies. 
He  was  a  man  of  good  works,  but  his  beneficence  was  quietly 
given,  often  without  the  knowledge  of  his  family.  In  the 
evening  of  his  life  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  him  and  his  good 
wife  on  their  frequent  carriage  rides,  frequently  stopping 
the  horse,  as  they  did,  to  chat  a  few  minutes  with  friends 
and  neighbors.  To  him  may  well  be  applied  these  words 
from  the  poets: 

"The  best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life  — 
His  little  unremembered  acts 
Of  kindness  and  of  love." 

"When  the  good  man  yields  his  breath, 
(For  the  good  man  never  dies) " 


The  Parsons  Family  of  Florence 


SPariHiiuv 


The  Parsons  Coat  of  Arms 


373 


THE  PARSONS  FAMILY  OF  FLORENCE 

A  Worthy  Branch  of  one  of  the  Pioneer  Families  of 
New  England 

THE  Parsons  family  of  Florence  has  an  origin,  in 
common  with  the  other  Parsons  families  of  New 
England,  from  Cornet  Joseph  Parsons,  who  was 
English  born,  although  history  has  not  yet  brought  to  light 
his  birthplace,  nor  when  he  came  to  America.  There  is  only 
circumstantial  evidence  pointing  to  the  probability  that  he 
came  from  Devon  or  Essex  County,  and  that  he  sailed  in  the 
Transport,  from  Gravesend,  England,  July  4,  1635.  Other 
details  relating  to  the  origin  of  this  family  will  be  found  in  the 
chapter  in  this  volume  relating  to  the  Sydenham  C.  Parsons 
family. 

Horace  K.  Parsons,  who  came  to  Florence  from  Con- 
necticut, was  the  head  of  an  important  branch  of  this  family. 
His  biography  has  been  published  in  other  books.  The  son, 
to  whom  he  left  his  inheritance,  and  who  made  a  mark  for 
himself  on  the  present  generation,  was 

CHARLES  0.  PARSONS 

He  succeeded  to  his  father's  business  interests  and  public- 
spirit  in  everything  relating  to  the  village,  and,  in  the  per- 

375 


376  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


formance  of  the  work  that  fell  to  him,  it  was  as  if  he  stood  in 
his  father's  shoes. 

Charles  Otis  Parsons  was  born  in  Thompsonville,  Con- 
necticut, but  came  to  Florence  in  January,  1866,  at  the  age 
of  one  year.  He  received  a  good  common  school  education, 
and  graduated  from  the  town  high  school.  Within  a  few 
months  afterward  he  entered  the  Eastman  Business  College 
at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  graduated  at  the  head  of  his 
class,  though  he  was  the  youngest  of  the  graduates  that  year. 

He  made  a  European  trip  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and 
while  in  England  saw  the  popular  demonstrations  at  the  time 
of  the  Queen's  Jubilee.  On  this  trip  he  spent  two  months  in 
Germany. 

He  was  thus  fitted  by  education,  and,  better  still,  by 
nature,  to  succeed  to  the  work  of  his  father,  and,  after  the 
latter's  death,  he  took  the  reins  as  one  to  the  "manor  born." 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  the  young  "squire"  of 
the  village.  He  was  not  only  the  manager  of  a  good  store 
business,  but  he  was  called  on  to  settle  real  estate,  draft  wills, 
and  do  the  work  of  a  notary  public  and  "mutual  friend"  for 
some  of  his  fellow  citizens  in  civil  disputes.  He  was  also  much 
interested  in  the  work  of  village  improvement,  and  he  had  a 
marked  love  for  children  and  for  music,  which  added  to  the 
attraction  of  his  character. 

Charles  0.  Parsons  showed  more  than  ordinary  mental 
power  in  applying  the  knowledge  he  had  acquired  in  his 
business  training.  He  had  a  personal  magnetism  which  drew 
men  to  him,  and  he  never  betrayed  a  confidence.  He  was  a 
wise  counsellor  and  a  true  friend.  Besides,  he  was  a  natural 
lawyer  and  settled  many  cases  for  his  fellow-villagers  without 
recourse  to  the  costly  proceedings  of  law.  In  the  art  of  pen- 
manship he  was  a  past  master  and  took  much  pride  in  the 
appearance  of  his  legal  documents  and  account  books. 


Charles  0.  Parsons 


377 


The  Parsons  Family  of  Florence  379 

Mr.  Parsons  for  several  years  carried  on  and  developed 
the  business  conducted  by  his  father.  This  included  the  sell- 
ing of  hay,  grain,  and  coal,  and  a  clothing  and  gentlemen's 
furnishing  goods  business.  He  sold  the  latter  branch  to 
Raymond  Stowell,  who  still  continues  at  the  old  stand. 

He  never  took  any  very  active  interest  in  politics,  though 
many  times  asked  to  run  for  office.  However,  he  aided,  in  a 
quiet  way,  the  work  of  the  city  committee  of  the  Republican 
Party,  of  which  he  was  always  a  member. 

Probably  his  accomplishment  and  service  in  a  public 
capacity  will  be  best  remembered  as  the  head  of  the  Florence 
fire  department.  He  was  chief  engineer  and  always  "on 
deck."  He  did  much  to  infuse  in  his  men  that  spirit  of  com- 
pany pride,  without  which  no  fire-fighting  organization  is 
worth  much.  But  his  public-spirit  was  not  confined  to  the 
fire  department.  He  was  so  active  in  the  work  of  village 
improvement  that  there  is  hardly  a  street  in  Florence  which 
does  not  bear  the  impress  of  his  interest  in  its  present  ap- 
pearance. He  spent  much  time  in  aiding  the  construction 
of  the  street  fountain  (a  most  valuable  public  work  because  it 
is  for  the  use  of  man  and  beast)  established  by  Julius  Maine 
in  front  of  Cosmian  Hall,  and  the  curbing  of  the  sidewalks  in 
that  vicinity  was  of  his  own  planning  and  supervisory  execu- 
tion. 

He  was  a  director  in  the  Cooperative  Bank  for  many 
years,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  its  growth.  Many  a  Florence 
workingman  should  thank  him  for  the  fact  that  he  owns  his 
own  home,  and  has  money  saved  in  the  bank.  For  many 
years  the  treasurer  of  the  Cooperative  Bank  has  come  from 
the  center  of  the  city  each  month  to  collect  the  dues  of  the 
shareholders  in  the  village,  and  Mr.  Parsons  gave  the  use  of 
his  desk  for  the  purpose.  This  custom  his  widow  still  con- 
tinues. 


380  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

The  Memorial  Day  parade  of  automobiles  was  an  idea 
of  Mr.  Parsons',  and  he  spent  much  time  arranging  for  the  suc- 
cess that  came  from  it.  The  parade  is  now  a  fixed  part  of  the 
Memorial  Day  exercises  and  gives  great  pleasure  to  many. 

In  1900  Mr.  Parsons  bought  of  his  father  the  Maple 
Street  land  on  which  the  present  post-office  stands,  and  later 
he  acquired  the  remainder  of  the  property.  He  then  erected  on 
it  the  block  which  now  stands  as  a  credit  to  his  sagacity  and 
his  foresight  for  the  needs  of  the  village  for  at  least  one  or  two 
generations  to  come.  This  was  the  most  important  and  com- 
modious business  block  in  Florence,  and  it  accordingly  was  at 
once  appropriated  by  the  leading  local  growing  lines  of  trade. 
When  the  building  was  first  opened  for  inspection  the  people 
of  the  community  were  greatly  surprised  at  the  advance  which 
had  been  made  in  the  equipment  of  such  an  efficient  business 
block  service.  It  might  not  be  exactly  sumptuous,  but  it  was 
in  every  respect  commodious  and  convenient,  and  much  better 
than  anything  the  village  had  seen  locally  before.  The  upper 
floor  of  the  first  block  contained  a  hall  finely  decorated,  and 
was  equipped  with  all  the  conveniences  required  for  the  lodge 
rooms  of  the  different  fraternal  orders  which  occupy  it.  As 
a  matter  of  course,  such  a  block  as  this  in  the  business  center 
of  the  village,  adds  attraction  to  the  village  dances  which  occur 
within  its  walls  so  frequently,  and  the  pleasure-seeking  and 
fraternal  society  gatherings  of  the  village  have  had  joint 
enjoyment  in  Mr.  Parsons'  business  block  achievement. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  occupations  of  those  who 
occupy  the  block  in  the  present  generation.  First,  on  the 
corner,  is  the  post-office.  Then  comes  John  W.  Bird,  the 
long-established  newsdealer  and  confectioner,  with  his  conven- 
ient ice  cream  parlors.  Next  is  Raymond  Stowell,  with  his 
expansion  of  the  old  Parsons  clothing  and  gentlemen's  furnish- 
ing business.     Potter  and  Sons,  with  their  grain  and  flour 


Parsons  Block  at  Florence 


381 


The  Parsons  Family  of  Florence  383 


business,  bought  of  Mrs.  CO.  Parsons,  come  next,  and  W.  H. 
Rice,  with  his  coal  and  wood  business,  is  at  the  southerly  end 
of  the  block.  Besides,  smaller  and  basement  apartments  are 
occupied  by  Bernache  and  O'Brien  with  a  barber  shop;  by 
M.  J.  Doyle  with  a  pool  room  and  bowling  alley;  by  McDon- 
nell Brothers  with  a  drug  store;  and  by  M.  C.  Shannon  with  a 
millinery  and  fancy  goods  store.  Over  the  stores  are  five  up-to- 
date  flats  with  all  modern  conveniences  and  equipments. 

Mr.  Parsons'  death  occurred  September  19,  1914,  and 
undoubtedly  must  be  ascribed  to  overwork,  for  he  took  no 
vacations  and  too  little  pleasure.  He  may  therefore  properly 
be  said  to  have  been  a  victim  of  the  over-strenuous  life  of  the 
times  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  not  a  man  who  worked  for 
the  mere  pleasure  of  accumulating  a  hoard  of  money,  but 
nevertheless  had  in  mind  constantly,  as  so  many  others  have, 
the  future  needs  of  a  growing  family,  and  he  did  not  spare 
himself,  as  he  could  have  done,  under  a  different  and  better 
system  of  society  and  government  than  the  present  so  called 
"competitive,"  but,  practically,  abortive  system  of  human 
living. 

In  his  every-day  character,  as  a  man  meeting  daily  with 
his  fellowmen,  Mr.  Parsons  was  quiet,  gentle,  and  unassuming. 
He  was  known  by  all,  old  and  young,  simply  as  "Charlie" 
Parsons,  and  the  entire  village  mourned  when  his  earthly  form 
disappeared.  In  his  home  life  he  was  just  the  same  man  known 
by  the  villagers,  and  those  who  worked  with  and  for  him 
realized,  with  his  departure,  that  such  quiet  unasuming  lives 
never  can  be  forgotten  and  that  they  really  continue  more 
clearly  in  the  spiritual  impress  they  leave  than  in  the  earthly 
bodily  existence. 

The  high  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Parsons  was  held  was  shown 
at  the  time  of  his  funeral.  All  public  places  and  places  of 
business  were  closed,  and  the  exercises  were  largely  attended 


384  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

by  city  officials  and  the  villagers.  His  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Holway,  gave  an  eloquent  tribute,  and  referred  feelingly  to 
the  deep  interest  which  Mr.  Parsons  had  taken  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  village  and  what  he  had  done  actively  in  that 
direction.  In  this  connection  the  following  resolutions  will 
be  of  interest.  The  first  were  adopted  by  the  board  of  Fire 
Engineers  of  the  City  of  Northampton,  and  the  second  by 
Mill  River  Lodge  of  the  New  England  Order  of  Protection. 

IN  MEMORIAM 

Whereas,  it  has  pleased  The  Divine  Master  to  call  from 
his  earthly  home  to  the  home  above,  on  September  19,  1914, 
our  beloved  brother, 

Whereas,  his  service  in  the  Northampton  Fire  Depart- 
ment, his  ability  to  govern  and  his  natural  leadership  amongst 
men  has  endeared  him  to  his  associates,  and  be  it 

Resolved :  That  we,  as  brothers,  suffer  with  deep  loss  and 
sadness  the  departure  of  our  beloved  brother  and  officer  and 
that  we  extend  to  his  bereaved  wife  and  family  our  heartfelt 
sympathy. 

Whereas,  our  Heavenly  Father  in  His  infinite  wisdom, 
has  called  our  beloved  brother,  Charles  0.  Parsons,  treasurer 
of  this  lodge,  from  this  life  to  the  life  eternal;  therefore 
be  it, 

Resolved :  That  in  the  death  of  our  brother  we  have  lost 
an  esteemed  and  faithful  member,  one  who  was  ever  zealous  in 
promoting  the  welfare  of  our  organization,  an  efficient  and 
trustworthy  treasurer,  a  true  and  loyal  friend,  whose  daily  life 
was  one  of  usefulness  exemplified  by  the  motto  "Equity, 
Benevolence,  and  Charity." 

Resolved:  That  our  heartfelt  sympathy  be  extended  to 
his  bereaved  family. 


The  Parsons  Family  of  Florence  385 

Resolved :  That  these  resolutions  be  placed  on  our  records 
and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to  his  family  and  our  charter  draped 
for  thirty  days.      Respectfully  submitted, 

William  Noble 
Mrs.  Emma  Tinker 
Mrs.  Hannah  Doppman 

Committee  on  Resolutions. 
Florence,  September  21,  1914. 

After  Mr.  Parsons'  death,  his  widow,  Mrs.  Mary  C. 
Parsons,  carried  on  the  business  under  extremely  trying  circum- 
stances, yet  very  successfully.  She  did  her  husband's  work 
until  August,  1915,  when  she  sold  out  to  A.  D.  Potter's  Sons 
Company,  who  rent  the  post-office  and  storehouses,  and  con- 
tinue in  the  same  line  of  trade. 

Not  long  after  Mr.  Parsons  passed  away  a  small  bank 
book  was  found  in  his  safe  by  his  wife,  and  in  it  was  written, 
in  his  well-known  handwriting,  "  Originally  earned  and  saved 
to  buy  a  bicycle,  but  I  thought  better  of  it."  That  first 
money  he  earned  is  still  in  the  bank  and  will  be  used  by  his 
wife  to  establish  a  fund  to  be  known  as  the  Charles  0.  Parsons 
Fund,  the  object  of  which,  however,  has  not  been  made  public 
at  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Parsons'  wife  was  Mary  C.  Dil worth  of  Belfast, 
Maine.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Martin  C.  and  Margaret  L. 
Dilworth.  Her  father  was  an  experienced  printer  and  news- 
paper man.  He  served  as  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  War,  and  for 
many  years  was  commander  of  the  Thomas  H.  Marshall  Post 
of  Belfast,  Maine.  He  was  a  recognized  authority  on  military 
tactics.  At  the  time  he  retired  from  active  business  he  was 
the  oldest  printer  in  the  state. 

Mrs.  Parsons,  in  her  ancestry,  both  in  her  father's  line 
and  her  mother's,  comes  from  a  race  of  soldiers  and  writers. 


386  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

On  her  mother's  side,  a  great-great-aunt,  Lady  Margaret 
Clare,  led  a  small  band  of  men  during  an  uprising  in  Dublin, 
more  than  two  hundred  years  ago.  This  Lady  Clare  was 
widely  famed  for  her  wit  and  daring. 

The  marriage  of  Miss  Dilworth  to  Mr.  Parsons  took  place 
June  14,  1892.  Their  three  children,  now  living,  are  Dorothy, 
a  student  at  Smith  College,  Charlotte  Otis,  a  graduate  of  the 
Northampton  High  and  the  Commercial  School,  and  Priscilla, 
a  pupil  at  Miss  Capen's  school.  Mr.  Parsons'  love  for  his 
wife  and  children  was  one  of  the  beautiful  things  of  his  life, 
and  his  loss  to  them  was  a  bitter  sorrow. 


George  A.  Burr 


The  Burr  Coat  of  Arms 


387 


GEORGE  A.  BURR 

Manufacturer  and  Public-spirited  Citizen 

NO  history  of  the  manufacturing  interests  of  North- 
ampton would  be  complete  without  a  reference  to 
the  business  life  of  George  A.  Burr  of  the  village 
of  Florence.  Yet  he  was  much  more  than  a  busy  manufac- 
turer. He  was  a  public-spirited  citizen  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
the  words,  and  those  living  who  were  associated  with  him 
recall  that  association  with  pleasure,  and  regret  that  such  a 
life  was  not  extended  to  a  longer  period  of  usefulness. 

The  family  name  of  Burr  is  said  to  have  had  its  origin 
in  the  village  of  Beur  in  the  Netherlands;  and,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  there  is  hardly  a  village  in  the  European  coast  region 
adjacent  to  England  but  has  furnished  the  English  people 
with  a  surname. 

In  1630  there  came  to  this  country  with  Winthrop's 
fleet  John  Burr,  the  first  of  the  Burr  family  to  emigrate 
across  the  Atlantic.  He  settled  in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts, 
and  he  at  once  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  material  affairs 
of  the  colony.  He  and  his  wife  were  made  members  of  the 
church,  and  he  was  appointed  overseer  of  roads  and  bridges, 
and  one  of  a  committee  to  construct  a  cart-bridge  over  Muddy 
River. 

389 


390  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


The  settlers  early  heard  of  the  rich  lands  in  the  Connecti- 
cut River  Valley,  and  in  the  spring  of  1636  William  Pynchon 
and  John  Burr  with  other  men  and  their  families  set  out  for 
the  land  of  promise.  They  traveled  in  the  usual  fashion  of 
those  times,  the  women  on  horseback,  and  the  men  on  foot 
by  a  blazed  trail.  The  company  came  to  a  final  halt  beside 
the  Connecticut  River  where  they  founded  a  village  that  they 
called  Agawam.  A  deed  of  the  land  was  given  by  the  Indians 
to  three  of  the  pioneers,  Pynchon,  Burr,  and  Smith,  June  15, 
1636.  Burr's  name  was  affixed  to  the  records  and  may  be 
seen  in  the  archives  of  old  Hampshire  County. 

In  1644  Mr.  Burr  removed  to  Fairfield,  Connecticut, 
and  the  next  year  he  was  elected  to  represent  that  town  in 
the  General  Court,  and  again  in  1646.  He  served  as  a  com- 
missioner to  collect  funds  for  poor  scholars  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  in  1660  he  was  chosen  a  grand  juror.  No  record  of 
his  marriage  or  death  has  been  found. 

George  Ames  Burr  was  a  native  of  Worthington,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  was  born  December  12,  1829.  He  was 
the  son  of  Ames  Burr,  who  was  born  in  Worthington,  January 
18,  1793,  and  died  there  October  21,  1875.  Ames  married 
Relief  Eager  of  Worthington.  Like  most  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens, he  was  a  farmer.  He  was  noted  for  his  upright  and 
practical  character,  and  was  often  consulted  by  his  neighbors 
in  matters  of  doubt  because  of  his  sound  judgment. 

The  grandfathers  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were 
Israel  Burr,  who  was  born  in  1756,  and  died  January  12, 
1827,  and  William  Eager  of  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts. 
The  grandmothers  were  Hannah  Ames  and Brett. 

George  Burr  could  trace  his  ancestry  back  to  the  year 
1604,  to  Rev.  Jonathan  Burr,  who  was  born  in  the  parish  of 
Redgrave,  Suffolk,  England,  in  that  year.  This  English 
minister  was  a  graduate  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge, 


George  A.  Burr 


391 


George  A.  Burr  393 


England,  in  1627.  He  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Dor- 
chester, Massachusetts,  as  a  colleague  of  Rev.  Richard  Mather. 
Among  the  American  ancestors  of  George  Burr  was  Israel 
Burr,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 

The  boy  George  Burr  left  his  father's  home  and  the 
farm  life  behind  when  he  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 
He  made  good  use  of  the  educational  facilities  afforded  him 
by  his  native  town,  and  at  the  time  he  left  Worthington  for 
the  duties  of  a  wider  field  of  life  he  was  as  well  equipped  as 
any  country  schoolboy  could  be.  Endowed  also  with  the 
sturdy  common  sense  and  fair  judgment  inherited  from  a 
good  ancestry,  he  came  to  Northampton  to  see  what  fortune 
had  in  store  for  him  here. 

His  first  venture  was  as  a  clerk  in  the  dry  goods  store 
of  the  famous  firm  of  Stoddard  and  Lathrop.  It  was  the 
custom  then  for  the  older  dry  goods  clerks  to  "bait"  new 
boys  in  various  ways,  informing  them  that  as  they  had  come 
to  "learn  to  sell  rags"  they  must  "take  what  was  coming 
to  them,"  etc.  But  young  Burr  accepted  all  this  good 
naturedly  and  made  friends  easily  by  his  good  nature  and 
willingness  to  receive  the  knocks  as  well  as  favors  of  fortune 
with  equanimity. 

He  only  occupied  the  position  of  clerk  until  he  had 
pretty  thoroughly  mastered  the  details  of  mercantile  trade, 
and  then  abandoned  dry  goods  selling  as  a  vocation.  Though 
still  a  boy  in  years,  he  engaged  in  business  for  himself,  in 
partnership  with  Lewis  J.  Mclntyre.  The  firm  dealt  in 
flour,  grain,  and  coal.  His  firm  brought  to  Northampton 
the  first  ton  of  coal  which  came  into  the  town.  Mr.  Burr 
made  a  fairly  successful  venture  in  this  line  of  trade,  but 
presently  retired  from  his  partnership  with  Mclntyre  and 
removed  to  the  town  of  Bleecker,  New  York.  There  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Oden- 


394  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

kirk,  for  the  manufacture  of  various  kinds  of  wooden  ware. 
The  partnership  continued  for  that  purpose  until  about  1860, 
or  in  all,  practically  ten  years.  It  enjoyed  uniform  financial 
success  until  a  fire  destroyed  the  establishment.  Consider- 
able machinery  and  manufacturing  stock  shared  the  fate  of 
the  buildings. 

But  Mr.  Burr  was  then  in  the  prime  of  a  vigorous  and 
healthy  manhood  and,  undaunted  by  his  reverses,  he  decided 
to  return  to  Northampton  and  await  the  tide  of  fortune.  He 
had  not  long  to  wait,  for  news  of  his  enterprise  and  energy 
was  soon  made  known.  Business  ability  and  attainments  in 
young  men  are  generally  recognized,  sooner  or  later,  and  so 
it  was  in  Mr.  Burr's  case.  The  Florence  Sewing  Machine 
Company  was  at  that  time  beginning  to  predicate  its  after- 
growth, magnitude,  and  celebrity,  and  it  needed  just  such  a 
man  as  Mr.  Burr  to  steer  the  executive  wheel  of  business. 
He  was  elected  general  agent  and  for  a  time  acted  as  financier 
and  treasurer  of  the  company. 

Under  the  management  of  Mr.  Burr  the  company  imme- 
diately began  to  augment  and  extend  its  manufacturing  fa- 
cilities, large  and  substantial  buildings  were  erected  for  this 
purpose  and  rapidly  supplied  with  the  requisite  machinery; 
there  was  a  call  for  increased  employees,  and  these  and  other 
evidences  of  material  prosperity  made  the  village  of  Florence 
flourish  like  a  "green  bay  tree."  Local  agencies  were  es- 
tablished throughout  the  country  for  the  sale  of  the  sewing- 
machines,  and  the  company  stock  rapidly  advanced  in  value, 
finally  selling  for  200  per  cent,  and  upward.  It  seems  to 
have  been  properly  claimed  that  had  the  same  honesty,  in- 
tegrity, and  ability  that  characterized  the  administration  of 
the  central  home  office,  governed  the  management  of  the 
prominent  local  offices,  the  financial  condition  of  the  company 
would  have  shown  the  same  marvel  of  business  prosperity 


Residence  of  Mrs.  F.  N.  Look  at  Florence 


395 


George  A.  Burr  397 


that  has  distinguished  the  management  of  some  other  great 
sewing-machine  enterprises,  and  the  village  of  Florence  would 
still  be  as  important  a  seat  of  that  industry  as  it  was  for  a 
decade  or  so. 

After  Mr.  Burr's  work  for  the  Florence  Sewing  Machine 
Company  was  finished  he  began  the  foundation  of  the  present 
Florence  Manufacturing  Company,  an  enterprise  in  which  he 
was  the  leading  spirit,  and  which  stands  today  as  a  monu- 
ment to  his  business  sagacity.  For  some  years  previous  to 
the  establishment  of  this  corporation  a  company  known  as 
Littlefield,  Parsons  and  Company  had  been  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  daguerreotype  cases,  buttons,  and  other  goods 
for  which  the  material  used  was  appropriate.  This  company 
occupied  rooms  in  the  building  that  is  now  the  central  mill 
of  the  Nonotuck  Company.  The  old  company  was  merged 
in  the  new  organization,  which  was  incorporated  as  above 
named,  and  the  present  large  substantial  brick  building  was 
erected  on  the  east  side  of  Mill  River  nearly  opposite  the 
site  of  Dr.  Munde's  famous  water  cure  establishment.  When 
the  officers  of  the  new  company  were  chosen  it  was  quite  a 
matter  of  course  that  Mr.  Burr  was  made  general  agent  and 
treasurer,  positions  which  he  held  to  within  a  few  days  of 
his  death.  The  great  industry  which  Mr.  Burr  built  up  is 
flourishing  more  than  ever  today,  fully  fifty  years  after  its 
establishment  by  him,  and  it  gives  constant  employment  to 
several  hundred  hands. 

Mr.  Burr  showed  his  public  spirit  on  many  occasions, 
most  notably  when  he  backed  financially  the  enterprise  which 
brought  Jenny  Lind  to  the  First  Church  in  Northampton, 
for  her  famous  concert.  To  this  day  there  are  a  few  who 
describe  with  great  feeling  their  own  emotions  on  this  occa- 
sion when  the  great  singer,  with  all  the  fervor  of  her  own 
religious  conviction  and  her  angelic  voice,  sang  "I  know  that 


398  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 

my  Redeemer  lives."  It  was  a  wonderful  occasion,  and  those 
who  brought  it  about  deserved  the  gratitude  that  was  ex- 
pressed by  the  community. 

Mr.  Burr  was  a  Republican,  but  he  was  not  ambitious 
politically,  though  often  importuned  to  allow  the  use  of  his 
name  for  office.  However,  he  held  the  office  of  selectman 
for  several  years,  representing  his  part  of  the  town,  and  he 
could  have  had  any  office  within  the  gift  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
but  he  was  too  devoted  to  his  business  to  allow  of  any  division 
of  his  energies.  He  was  elected  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
Northampton  National  Bank,  an  office  which  he  held  several 
years,  and  when  the  Florence  Savings  Bank  was  established 
he  was  chosen  vice-president  of  that  institution. 

The  personal  character  of  Mr.  Burr  was  beyond  re- 
proach. In  all  his  business  transactions  he  was  strictly 
honest  and  honorable.  A  gentleman  withal,  he  was  sedate 
and  dignified  in  social  intercourse,  but  genial  and  hearty  in 
his  home  and  neighborhood  associations.  His  business  ne- 
gotiations were  of  such  directness,  brevity,  and  positiveness 
that  they  were  easily  understood  and  contributed  greatly, 
without  a  doubt,  to  the  success  he  made  of  his  business.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Florence  Congregational  Church,  having 
united  by  letter  from  one  of  the  Northampton  churches  soon 
after  the  Rev.  E.  G.  Cobb  had  been  installed.  From  the 
time  of  his  removal  to  Florence  to  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  a  prominent  and  liberal  supporter  of  this  church  and  the 
cause  of  Christianity  in  general. 

When  the  funeral  services  were  held  after  his  death 
there  was  widespread  mourning,  for  Mr.  Burr  was  popular 
not  only  in  the  village  of  Florence  but  over  a  large  extent  of 
the  country,  among  business  men,  and  business  friends  from 
cities  east  and  west  at  a  considerable  distance  attended. 
The  funeral  address  of  Mr.  Burr's  pastor  especially  memori- 


North  View  on  Grounds  of  Mrs.  F.  N.  Look's  Estate  at  Florence 


399 


George  A.  Burr 


401 


alized  his  life  of  genuine  business  integrity  and  usefulness, 
and  delineated  the  characteristics  that  made  his  life  so  nota- 
ble in  the  business  and  general  world  as  well.  Mr.  Burr  was 
fifty-one  years  of  age  when  he  passed  on  to  the  higher  life. 

He  married,  June  28,  1854,  Sarah  M.  Ely,  daughter  of 
Frederick  Ely  and  Bathsheba  (Kent).  The  latter  was  grand- 
daughter of  Ruggles  Kent  and  Achsah  (Bliss),  and  of  Cotton 
Ely  and  Sallie  (Miller),  and  she  was  a  descendant  of  Na- 
thaniel Ely,  who  came  from  Tenterden,  Kent  County,  Eng- 
land, to  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  on  the  bark  Elizabeth 
from  Ipswich,  England,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut.  There  were  five  children  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Burr,  of  whom  two  are  living  —  George  Howard  Burr, 
banker,  of  New  York,  and  Mrs.  Frank  N.  Look  of  Florence. 


GENERAL  JOHN  L.  OTIS 

Prominent  Manufacturer  and  Distinguished  Soldier 

GENERAL  JOHN  L.  OTIS  will  be  remembered  for 
many  years  as  a  well-beloved  citizen  of  Florence. 
His  popularity  and  value  as  a  citizen,  however,  did 
not  come  from  participation  and  comradeship  in  the  old 
" Community"  days,  but  rather  from  his  success  as  a  manu- 
facturer and  his  sociable  and  unpretentious  manners  to  all, 
rich  and  poor  alike. 

John  Lord  Otis  was  born  in  Lyme,  Connecticut,  July  15, 
1827,  the  son  of  Hay  den  E.  and  Mary  (Lord)  Otis.  During 
the  earlier  years  of  his  life  he  was  employed  in  a  cotton  factory, 
which  he  entered  before  he  was  eight  years  old,  and  where  he 
worked  fourteen  hours  a  day.  He  followed  this  employment, 
from  "bobbin  boy"  to  overseer,  for  eighteen  years,  and  mean- 
while devoted  his  nights  to  hard  study.  His  education  in- 
cluded a  knowledge  of  mechanical  engineering,  for  which  he 
had  great  aptitude.  In  1851  he  took  charge  of  the  Pacific 
Mills  of  Manchester,  Connecticut,  as  superintendent,  and 
later  he  established  the  Otis  Manufacturing  Company  at 
South  Manchester,  where  he  was  living  when  the  war  broke 
out.  While  in  charge  of  that  concern  he  put  in  operation  for 
the  Cheney  Brothers  of  that  place  the  first  machine  for  the 
manufacture  of  silk  and  wool  knit  goods  ever  operated  in 
this  country. 

It  was  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War  which  led  General 

402 


General  John  L.  Otis 


403 


General  John  L.  Otis  405 

Otis  away  from  his  chosen  business,  for  after  the  first  battle 
of  Bull  Run  he  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  Tenth 
Regiment  of  Connecticut  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  started  for 
the  front.  By  heroic  service  he  won  many  promotions,  pass- 
ing the  different  grades  until,  in  February,  1863,  he  was  ad- 
vanced to  a  Colonelcy.  He  was  mustered  out  of  the  army 
after  three  years  and  four  months  service,  carrying  home  the 
title  of  Brevet  Brigadier  General.  He  had  a  long  and  excit- 
ing war  record.  He  took  part  in  all  of  Burnside's  and  Foster's 
engagements  in  North  Carolina,  and  in  1863  was  with  Foster 
in  South  Carolina.  The  following  year  he  was  ordered  to 
service  in  Virginia,  and  joined  the  Army  of  the  James.  In 
all  his  army  experience  the  General  showed  himself  the  true 
soldier,  and  the  scars  of  three  wounds,  received  at  Newbern 
and  Kingston,  were  evidence  of  this. 

Notwithstanding  the  wounds  he  received  he  was  the  next 
day  in  the  battle  of  White  Hall  and  two  days  later  in  that  of 
Goldsboro  Bridge.  In  January,  1863,  while  in  South  Caro- 
lina with  Foster's  army  he  did  important  service  in  com- 
manding advances,  holding  positions  and  skirmishing.  He 
then  proceeded  to  accompany  Terry's  command  to  James 
and  Morris  islands,  where  he  added  to  his  already  brilliant 
record.  His  health  having  suffered  by  exposure  he  was  de- 
tailed to  go  North  and  take  charge  of  a  conscript  camp  at 
New  Haven,  Connecticut.  He  remained  there  about  three 
months,  when  he  asked  to  be  relieved  and  sent  back  to  the 
front.  He  rejoined  his  regiment  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida, 
and  soon  afterward  was  placed  in  command  of  the  post.  He 
was  ordered  to  Virginia  in  April,  1864,  and  joined  the  Army 
of  the  James  at  Gloucester  Point,  and  it  was  for  special  gal- 
lantry at  the  crossing  of  the  James  River  that  he  received 
his  commission  as  Brigadier  General.  During  his  three  years 
and  a  half  of  service  he  was  in  more  than  fifty  battles. 


406  Representative  Families  of  Northampton 


When  he  returned  from  the  war  he  became  superintendent 
of  the  Florence  Sewing  Machine  Company  at  Florence,  where 
he  remained  three  years.  Then  he  established,  with  L.  B. 
Williams,  the  Northampton  Emery  Wheel  Company,  of  which 
he  was  treasurer,  and  a  most  successful  manager  and  finan- 
cier. The  business  was  conducted  under  the  firm  name  of 
Otis  and  Williams,  until  a  stock  company  was  formed. 

On  March  1,  1847,  General  Otis  married  Catherine 
Preston,  a  daughter  of  Cyrus  Preston  of  South  Hadley. 
They  had  two  sons,  Philip  A.,  who  died  in  May,  1914,  and 
Harry  P.,  who  has  inherited  his  father's  taste  for  manufac- 
turing, and  is  president  of  the  Norwood  Engineering  Company 
of  Florence. 

Although  in  no  sense  of  the  word  a  politician,  General 
Otis  was  called  to  various  offices  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow 
citizens.  He  was  selectman  two  years,  a  representative  to 
the  Legislature  in  1877,  and  State  Senator  in  1879  and  1880. 
He  would  undoubtedly  have  been  the  first  Mayor  of  the  city 
but  for  an  unfortunate  and  what  many  felt  an  underhanded 
opposition.  General  Otis  always  took  an  active  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  Northampton  and  its  local  civic  matters.  His 
arduous  and  successful  efforts  to  secure  the  city  charter  will 
be  remembered  by  many.  He  was  prominent  in  the  highest 
fraternal  society  life,  and  became  Commander  of  the  Military 
Legion,  and  Eminent  Commander  of  the  Northampton  Com- 
mandery  of  Knights  Templar.  He  was  a  director  of  the 
Northampton  National  Bank.  Liberal  minded  in  religious 
matters,  he  early  connected  himself  with  the  Free  Congrega- 
tional Society  of  Florence,  and  was  always  a  prominent  and 
influential  member  of  that  organization. 

General  Otis  died  at  Tarpon  Springs,  Florida,  March  14, 
1894.  For  several  years  ill  health  had  led  him  to  spend  his 
winters  in  the  South,  thus  avoiding  the  extreme  cold  of  the 


General  John  L.  Otis  407 

New  England  climate.  In  January,  1894,  while  preparing  to 
leave  Florence,  he  had  an  attack  of  heart  disease,  but  rallied 
sufficiently  to  be  able  to  make  the  journey.  His  strength, 
failed,  however,  soon  after  reaching  Tarpon  Springs,  and  the 
end  came  suddenly. 

The  funeral  at  Cosmian  Hall  will  long  be  remembered  by 
those  who  attended  it,  as  an  imposing  and  popular  tribute 
not  only  of  the  whole  community,  but  of  the  military  and  civic 
organizations  and  their  officials,  from  far  and  near,  to  the 
worth  of  the  man.  A  worthy  citizen  he  certainly  was,  be- 
cause he  led  a  thoroughly  upright  life.  He  was  kind,  true, 
gentlemanly,  fearless,  and  gave  intelligent  and  conscientious 
attention  to  public  affairs,  contributing  very  much  of  himself 
in  peace  and  war,  to  the  general  good  in  a  fashion  which  showed 
true  public  spirit. 


JOSEPH  C.  MARTIN 

Well-Known  Florence  Inventor 

JOSEPH  CHAPMAN  MARTIN  was  born  in  Florence 
November  6,  1844,  and  died  there  March  15,  1899. 
His  father  was  Joseph  Chapman  Martin,  who  was  born 
August  20,  1808,  and  died  July  21,  1865.  His  mother's 
name  before  marriage  was  Roxanna  Ashley. 

At  the  time  of  Joseph  C.  Martin's  birth  his  father  was 
a  gardener  in  the  old  Community  on  the  Dr.  Munde  place, 
and  lived  in  a  house  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  residence 
now  occupied  by  Mrs.  CO.  Parsons.  The  boy  had  a  com- 
mon school  education,  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  with 
Amos  Eldridge.  With  his  brother  Luther  he  later  became 
interested  in  the  manufacture  of  cash  carriers,  after  their 
own  patents.  Joseph  finally  bought  out  his  brother's  inter- 
est and  with  new  capital  organized  a  company  for  manufac- 
turing, first  in  Florence,  and  then  in  Springfield.  He  finally 
secured  the  partnership  of  Arthur  G.  Hill  of  Florence,  and 
together,  under  the  name  of  the  Martin-Hill  Company,  they 
carried  on  the  business  to  considerable  success,  finally  dis- 
posing of  their  interests  to  the  Lamson  Company  of  Lowell. 

Following  the  close  of  this  transaction  with  the  Lamson 
Company,  Mr.  Martin  invented,  patented,  and  successfully 
put  on  the  market  another  carrier  known  as  a  pick-up  car- 
rier, which  was  largely  used  in  the  offices  of  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company.     The  manufacture  of  this  car- 

408 


Joseph  C.  Martin 


409 


Joseph  C.  Martin  411 


rier  was  financed  by  Mr.  Martin  and  prominent  Boston 
capitalists,  and  its  business  career  lasted  a  period  of  ten 
years,  when  Mr.  Martin  retired  from  active  business  and 
bought  some  land  on  Petticoat  Hill  in  Williamsburg.  There 
he  built  a  fine  residence,  with  the  hope  of  spending  his  declin- 
ing days  in  it,  but  illness  prevented. 

His  was  a  most  genial  character,  and  his  trials  were  met 
by  him  with  unfailing  good  nature.  He  was  honest  and  up- 
right in  all  his  dealings,  and  was  a  deservedly  popular  citizen 
in  the  community  of  Florence.  Being  a  good  elocutionist,  he 
was  often  called  on  in  public  entertainments,  and  he  never 
failed  to  respond  cheerfully.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican, 
and  in  religious  matters  he  was  a  free  thinker/being  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  Free  Congregational  Society  of  Cos- 
mian  Hall.  He  married,  in  November,  1873,  Isavene  Webb. 
He  had  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Mann  and  Sarah  E.  Martin; 
and  three  brothers,  Abel  R.  of  Roberts  Meadow,  and  Edwin 
H.  and  Luther  A.  of  Florence. 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE 

FOR  the  satisfactory  completion  of  this  work 
the  publishers  are  indebted,  for  advice  and 
suggestions,  to  President  Emeritus  L.  Clark 
Seelye  and  Professor  H.  Norman  Gardiner  of  Smith 
College,  and  to  Clifton  Johnson  for  artistic  oversight 
of  the  work  and  the  literary  finish  of  the  text. 

As  this  is  the  first  volume  of  a  series  which  it  is 
hoped  will  include  two  hundred  or  more  families,  it 
is  urged  that  those  interested  in  a  thoroughly  ade- 
quate showing  of  Northampton  households  shall 
communicate  as  early  as  possible  with  the  under- 
signed. It  is  desirable  that  all  the  important  or 
representative  families  be  included  in  the  complete 
work,  even  if  no  more  than  a  page  or  two  be  used 
for  some  of  them. 

Charles  F.  Warner,  Manager 
Picturesque  Publishing  Company. 


